The Turn of a Hero
by The Dark Hood
Summary: We all know how Naruto returned from his training trip. Weak. But what if he was offered something he couldn't resist by the last being he thought he could trust? Dark Naruto.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**  
><strong>Pairing: Narutox?<strong>  
><strong>"Hmm…"<strong>-tailed beast or summoning talking  
><strong>'Hmm…'<strong>-tailed beast or summoning thinking

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue <strong>

1 month

That's how long since Naruto had left on his training trip with the 'famous' Jiraiya the Sannin. So far he hadn't learn anything useful from Jiraiya. Naruto had been expecting to learn a lot from him, but so far he had been disappointed. Though, it did give him a lot to think about his current self. Was he strong enough? Was he on his way to become the best ninja that he could be? Or was he just simply wasting his time?

These were the thoughts that were crossing Naruto's mind as he and Jiraiya entered another village. "Alright brat, work on your chakra control tonight while I check this city out," said Jiraiya while thinking, 'Time to get more material for my next novel!'

"But that's all I've been doing this entire month!" protested Naruto. "Isn't there anything else we can do?" he asked. "I'm your master and your my student. Students are suppose to listen to their masters," countered Jiraiya. 'They're also suppose to teach stuff,' thought Naruto. "Bu-," "No Buts! Now go find a training place until I return." With that, Jiraiya walked away, leaving Naruto all by himself.

* * *

><p>'Stupid pervert! How did he even become so strong?' thought Naruto as he walked on. 'At this rate, I'll never improve!'<p>

Finally, he found a place in the forest to be appropriate. So he started to meditate, something he learned to do while having nothing to do.

Soon he found himself in a familiar sewer with a familiar cage.

**"So, what is it that you want this time whelp?" **asked the Kyuubi.

"Nothing, I just started to meditate and I came here. Why?" asked Naruto.

**"It's simple. Right now your feeling negative emotions, and I'm made up of negative emotions, so your subconscious brought you here," **answered the Kyuubi. Then Naruto remembered his problem and started to get angry again. When the kyuubi saw this, he laughed.

**"What's the matter whelp? I've never seen you this angry before," **said the kyuubi. "It's that pervert thats suppose to be teaching me," began Naruto,"but all he does is peep on women for that stupid book of his."

**"I see..."**

"At this rate I'll never become Hokage!"

With that statement, Kyuubi began to roar with laughter. After a while, Naruto started to get angry. "What the hell are you laughing at, you stupid fox?"

**"I find it amusing how you want to protect those little insignificant humans who caused you nothing but suffering," **answered Kyuubi. Now Naruto was confused. "What do you mean?"

**"Don't tell you have already forgotten your childhood."**

NOW Naruto understood. "Who cares about that? Eventually they'll acknowledge me and accept me."

**"HAHAHAHA! You truly are stupid! Humans will never accept something they can't comprehend or control. It's in your nature."** "Bu-" **"Just accept it already and stop wasting your time! Because that's exactly what you're doing right now. You could be using this time to make yourself stronger, but instead you're just simply playing ninja with that 'pervert' as you called him."**

Naruto knew he was right. As much as he hated to admit, he knew that Kyuubi was right.

"Then what am I going to do? I have no one else to teach me nor do I have anywhere else to go."

**"You really are stupid. Are you forgetting that you have me. As much as I don't like you and would rather tear you apart, I'm stuck inside of you which means that because of your stupidity you might die, which in turn I die as well." But Kyuubi paused to think about that. He wouldn't die of course. His chakra would simply just split itself into parts and then come back together at a different location. But that was just simply annoying for the great bijuu. He would be weak, something that he detested. It wouldn't be for some time that he would regain his full strength, and that would leave him vulnerable. But the brat didn't need to know all of that. Coming out of his thoughts, the bijuu continued.**

"I also have a great wealth of information that will benefit you as well techniques. And as for living, we'll live off the land. Life is simply much less complicated that way."

To Naruto, all of this sounded to good to be true. "How can I trust you?" he asked.

**"Finally, you're using your brain, huh? You don't know if you can trust me or not, but as I said earlier, you die, I die. Besides, would you rather waste 3 years of your life simply doing nothing, or would you rather have a chance to become as strong as you can be and show those idiotic fools what they lost because of their feeble minds?" **retorted Kyuubi with a dark sinister grin on his face.

Naruto thought it over. What did he have to lose? He was simply wasting his time like Kyuubi said. Jiraiya had no interest in teaching him. All the pervert cared about was that novels of his, while leaving Naruto with nothing. And that was not what he had agreed to when he came on this training trip. As for Kyuubi, the seal held him back, Naruto realized that. So as long as he didn't do something as stupid as to brake the seal, he would be fine. So in the end, it was a good deal to the young blond knucklehead ninja.

"Fine. I'm in," answered Naruto after awhile.

Kyuubi merely nodded, before giving him instructions as to how to ditch Jiraiya undetected.

But Naruto was thinking of the good things that would come with this. Finally he would have a real teacher. A chance to become strong. If only he knew what would happen as a result of his decision.

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><p><strong>Yo!<strong>

**Trying to see if I'm cut out for writing instead of just reading. But after reading this, honestly, tell me if I suck or not because if I do then I'll stop right now instead of wasting my time and yours. **

**So, till next time.**


	2. A Good Choice

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
><strong>**Pairing: Narutox?  
><strong>**"Hmm…"-**Tailed Beast or summoning talking  
><strong>'Hmm…'-<strong>Tailed Beast or summoning thinking  
><strong>"<strong>_**Hmm…**_**"-**Dark Naruto

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: A good Choice<strong>

5 months.

That's how long since Naruto had left his 'official' training trip with Jiraiya and decided to do what Kyuubi had told him to do. Under Kyuubi's guidance, he covered his tracks well enough that not even Jiraiya would be able to find him. He'd also cut any connections with the toads in case Jiraiya tried to use them. How? He simply destroyed the contract that he had with the toads. Naruto was no longer able to summon them, but he didn't mind or cared.

Naruto was also becoming stronger and felt himself getting stronger everyday. He'd learned that he remembers everything that his shadow clones do when they dispel. Thanks to this, his chakra control has improved drastically. He's also improved his taijutsu, while not as great as Guy or Lee, it improved to a decent level at the moment. He's also started to become interested in kenjutsu, but he's still has a long way in that area. Where he has excelled the most out of all the ninja areas is at elemental training. He'd learned that his primary affinity is wind with water being his second.

Kyuubi was not surprised by this. The Uzumaki clan were all composed of all strong wind and water users, with a few lighting users, and even rare fire and earth users.

Thanks to shadow clones, he'd manage to control he's affinities at a high level, but was complete at the moment. He was getting there, but more worked needed to be done. He'd also learned jutsus for both of his affinities. He'd also managed to do the rasengan with one hand once his chakra control improved. He has been trying to add his affinity to the rasengan, but for the moment, he still hasn't gotten it down yet.

In all, he was at a high chunnin to low jounin level right now. He also learned something crucial in the past 5 months.

His old teachers sucked! That was it, plain and simple.

Kakashi most of all. At least Jiraiya had taught him the rasengan and how to summon, but all Kakashi taught him was the tree climbing exercise. But all that was over with now. All Naruto cared about right now was to get stronger, and he was getting there, Naruto realized. Little by little and with hard work, but he was getting there.

* * *

><p>Kyuubi was pleased at the moment. His container has improved faster than he had anticipated. He figured that it had something to do with his heritage to the Uzumaki clan. But most of all his connection to that damn Yondaime Hokage who had sealed him yet again.<p>

**'Better not think about it right now,' **thought Kyuubi, shaking his head to clear away those thoughts.

Soon another being joined him, and he didn't look to happy at the moment.

_**"Tch…"**_

**"Something the matter?"**

_**"You're helping him."**_

**"And?"**

_**"Never thought you would do it. Especially since he's the son of the…second man you hate the most in this world."**_

**"Hehehehe. It's better this way. Soon that 'Madara' will come back and try to capture me again. I preferred to be…controlled by the brat rather than 'Madara.'"**

**_"We both know that he's not strong enough to defeat you."_**

**"YET. Soon he will be. In time and with proper teaching, he can become strong enough to rival even Madara himself. He's also going to find out about you soon, you know."**

_**"And? He can't get rid of me, no matter what he tries to do. Even if he defeats me, which is highly unlikely, his darkness within his heart will always remain which means that I will always exist as a result."**_

**"You have Konoha to thank for that."**

_**"They're fools. Though I guess I should be grateful to them because, if they hadn't been the idiots that they are, I would never have been born in the first place."**_

**"Indeed."**

_**"For now, I'll just simply keep watching my other self's progress. Then, when the time is right, I'll reveal myself to him."**_

**"As you wish."** With that Dark Naruto receded back deeper into Naruto's mind until he would meet his other self. And Dark Naruto couldn't wait for that to happen.

* * *

><p>'I'm so dead!' thought Jiraiya. 'Where did that brat go?'<p>

Indeed. It has been 5 months since Jiraiya lost Naruto. At first, he simply thought that the hyperactive blond was just simply training, but after the fourth day of him not returning to the hotel where they had supposed to have had stayed in or just simply not returning to the town itself, he went to look for him. But he found no trace of him. Who knew that the brat was so good at stealth?

If only he knew that Naruto had outrun the Anbu and had managed to hide from them after pulling his famous pranks. If only...

Back to his current problem. He had tried to look through using the toad contract as well, but that didn't work either. Why? Somehow the brat had been able to release himself from the contract with the toads. And that saddened Jiraiya a lot more than anyone could have thought. And now, he had no way of knowing where Naruto was. Jiraiya was simply using the old method of searching people, seeing no other alternatives. And that was to ask random people if they had seen Naruto. Oh, use his spy network as well. But so far, even that had been useless!

'If I don't find him soon, Tsunade's gonna kill me!'

Oh yes, Jiraiya could only imagine what Tsunade would do to him if she found out that he lost the person who she thought of as a son.

"DAMMIT!"

* * *

><p>"BOOOOMMM!"<p>

"YES!"

Finally he'd manage to add his wind affinity to the rasengan. It wasn't complete yet, obviously, seeing as it drained him from more of his chakra then it should, but he was definitely improving at least. Naruto grinned to himself. He never thought he'd be able to be this strong all by himself. He thought he was a failure, but it just proved that Konoha was not good to him at all.

'Enough about that place. Back to training,' he thought to himself.

With that, he went back to perfecting the new jutsu that he had just learned. If only he knew that this was only the beginning of the many changes that would take place in his life. But for now, Naruto knew that he'd made the right choice of following Kyuubi's idea.

While all of this was happening, Kyuubi just grinned and thought to himself: **'This is the greatest revenge I could possibly think of for you Yondaime. You're son hating the village that you oh so honorably protected. He might not hate the village right now, but soon he will, especially when he learns of all the things that were kept from him and merge with his other self.'**

With that, he went back to watching his container train, making himself stronger. He was gonna need it for the things to come.

* * *

><p><strong>YO!…Again!<strong>

**So a lot of people read my prologue, but didn't review, which is kinda disappointing. To me, every author wants to know what their readers think, so...review! As a bonus, I posted this. Hope you like it.**

**Till next time,**  
><strong>Hood<strong>


	3. Plans

Disclimer: I don't own Naruto  
><strong>"Hmm…"-<strong>Tailed beast or summoning talking  
><strong>'Hmm…'-<strong>Tailed beast or summoning thinking  
><em><strong>"Hmm…"-<strong>_Dark Naruto

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: Plans<strong>

"So basically what you're saying is that learning seals can be useful?"  
><strong><br>"Exactly."**

"How?"

**"Look at me. I was defeated because of seals."**

"All right. You've proven your point. The only problem is that I don't think I have the patience to do them."

**"Well learn how to. You already know how to meditate. Just think of it like that. Besides, it won't be too hard. Seal making is in your blood."**

"What do you mean by that?"

"**Uhh…nothing! Let's just start already."**

Naruto just merely narrowed his eyes at the bijuu that was currently sealed within him. Almost a year had passed already. His chakra control was as best as it could be. He had a bunch of powerful jutsus in his arsenal as well. His most powerful being **Futon:Rasenshuriken **which he had mastered 3 months earlier. His sword skills were at low kage level, which he was satisfied at the moment with. Genjutsu was his lowest skill. He could dispel them and detect them which Kyuubi said would be enough. But in the past year, not only have his skills grown, but his intelligence as well. He could tell that Kyuubi was hiding something from him, but decided not to comment on it. At least not until he was stronger.

Kyuubi was mentally cursing himself. Now his container would be suspicious of him, making his goal harder. He calmed himself down though. There's plenty of time before he would start his plan. But he realized something: it would be harder now. Naruto had grown smarter and would not listen to him easily.

"Alright. I'll go buy the supplies then." Naruto disappeared from his mind to the real world to get everything ready for his next step of his training. Naruto had gotten to working random jobs that classified as D-rank missions in a shinobi village. Was it a pain in the ass? Definitely, but money was necessary for some things such as clothing, and training supplies, so he survived through them.

Right after he left, another being took his place._**"You just made your first mistake."**_

**"Shut up! You don't think I don't know that!?"**

_**"Don't take it out on me. Besides, I think you're stupid in trying to deceive him. Just tell him everything. He's not the same idiot as before, something that I'm grateful for. He's not just going to forgive them like before. I'm pretty sure of it. After all, I AM him."**_

Kyuubi thought about it. It was true. Naruto had definitely changed in the past year. He was no longer the same blond knucklehead that he was when he started training. He had was starting to mature in both mind and body. "**You're right. But why are you telling me this?"** Kyuubi narrowed his eyes at the dark entity. **"You want him to destroy the village, don't you?"**

_**"HAHAHAHA! Don't make me laugh! I don't give a shit about that village! All I want is to be free and cause mayhem!"**_

**"Hmm…"**

_**"Don't believe me? Well I don't care! Soon, my other half and me will fight and see who has the right to freedom."**_

**"You think you can defeat him?"**

**_"Hmm...I know I can. After all, I AM HIS DARKNESS. And, in the little probability that I do lose, he's turning more and more like me everyday, so it makes no difference at the end." _**

Kyuub just merely watched as Dark Naruto disappeared. '**Hmm…I wonder how this will turn out…'**

* * *

><p>"You're saying he just vanished?"<p>

"Yes Pain-sama."

Pain just sighed at that. From what Zetsu was telling him, the Kyuubi jinchuriki just vanished off the face of the earth. This will make their job a lot harder all right. But the Kyuubi wasn't the only bijuu that needed to be captured for their plan to work.

"Alright. Itachi, Kisame, here is your new target until Zetsu is able to find the Kyuubi." The two named criminals just simply payed attention. Well one did, but Itachi was also processing this new information.

'It seems as if Naruto-kun is up to something. But what could that be? I'm sure Danzo will never allow something like the Kyuubi to slip out of his fingers. Unless he doesn't know yet which means Jiraiya hasn't told anyone yet. Did Danzo not send his ROOT to monitor them?' It was a possible theory. After all, having someone like Jiraiya traveling with Naruto, it would be hard to keep tabs on Naruto without Jiraiya himself finding out about it. 'It seems as if this will be interesting,' thought Itachi to himself. Will it be good? Well, it was too early for even Itachi to know the answer to that question.

With that, he payed attention to his next assignment.

* * *

><p>Back in Rain after the meeting among the akatsuki members, a beautiful woman with blue hair and amber eyes wearing the standard akatsuki uniform appeared next to the current Path that Pain was using at the moment. And that path was Tendo which was his most commonly used out of all the other Paths.<p>

"Pain…he's here."

Next to her, a man appeared in a vortex. "I hear you're having difficulties," he commented drily.

"It's nothing that I can't handle," answered Pain without turning around to face the man.

"You better make sure it isn't. Even if you have the Rinnegan, you know that I know you're weakness," said the man with a threatening undertone in his voice. Konan narrowed her eyes slightly at that.

"Hai, Madara-sama," simply replied Pain.

"Good. The Kyuubi is an important part to my plan. Find it." With that, the man disappeared the same way he appeared.

Pain merely kept staring at the village below him.

* * *

><p>"And you having seen or heard anything about him?"<p>

"Nope. Sorry, Jiraiya." Jiraiya just sighed at that. He's been checking all his contacts throughout the Elemental Nations to see if anybody had seen or heard anything about Naruto, but so far he has not had any luck.

'Its been a year already. I hope this hasn't gotten out yet. Not only that, but I'm going to have to face Tsunade soon. This really sucks,' thought Jiraiya, crying mentally to himself before regaining his bearing

With that in mind, he went to check his next contact, all the while hoping that he can find Naruto as soon as possible.

* * *

><p>"Is this information accurate?"<p>

"Yes, Danzo-sama."

'This is troubling.' thought Danzo. 'There's no way we can lose the Kyuubi. Jiraiya, that idiot.'

Danzo had never approved of Jiraiya taking Naruto on that training trip. He knew the way Jiraiya was. The man was simple too irresponsible unless the situation called for it. But he was even more pissed at Tsunade for agreeing to the trip in the first place. And now this happens!

'If only Sarutobi had let me train the boy, Konoha would have a powerful weapon within its ranks,' thought Danzo bitterly to himself

Nothing he could do about it now, except to find the boy and bring him back to Konoha. With that in mind, he refocused his attention back to the anbu gathered in front of him. Perfect. So, he issued his order.

"ROOT. Find me Uzumaki Naruto and bring him back to me."

* * *

><p>"Orochimaru-sama."<p>

"What is it Kabuto?" Kabuto joined his master as he watched Sasuke on top of a small hill train down below."It seems as if Naruto-kun has disappeared," answered Kabuto, readjusting his glasses.

Orochimaru finally turned to look at his right-hand man. "Akatsuki?" he simply said. Kabuto shook his head at that. "No. It seems as if he left Jiraiya when they were on their training trip all of a sudden. And apparently he can't find him and neither can Akatsuki," further added Kabuto.

Orochimaru just listened to all of this. After awhile, he laughed as his long tongue came out of his mouth. "It seems as if Naruto-kun is more skilled than I thought if he can even evade my idiot of a teammate," praised Orochimaru...well, sort of.

"Indeed. What are we going to do Orochimaru-sama?" asked Kabuto.

"Nothing. This will keep Akatsuki busy while I train Sasuke-kun and get him ready for me to posses his body," answered Orochimaru with a wave of his hand.

"As you wish Orochimaru-sama," replied Kabuto with a bow. With that, Kabuto left to his other duties. Orochimaru thought of the new development as he turned back to oversee Sasuke's training. Naruto was up to something, if only he knew what. Could the boy have found out what happened with his clan...? No, that wasn't possible. No one knew of that, save himself and the mastermind behind akatsuki. Everyone else that did was already dead.

'Never mind with that. Soon I'll have Sasuke-kun's body and his sharingan. And when that happens, Konoha will burn to the ground!' thought Orochimaru with glee.

* * *

><p>"So this is the basics of seal making?"<p>

**"That's right."**

"Huh. This is easier than I thought it would be."

Kyuubi just shook his head at that. He then thought back to what Dark Naruto told him. Now was the time to make his decision. Would he tell Naruto everything and hope he would hate his father afterwards? Or wait until later when it might be worst when the brat was already getting suspicious of him? A tough choice indeed.

**'What to do?'**

After awhile, he made his decision.

**"Naruto."**

The blond looked up from his current seal that he was working on when his name was called. Of course it was just one of the basic ones, but you had to start somewhere.

Kyuubi looked at his young container straight in the eyes. **"It's time you knew of your heritage…"**

* * *

><p><strong>YO!<strong>

**I know, I'm updating fast, but thats because I want people to get interested. And…I hope this does its job.**

**Till next time,**  
><strong>Hood<strong>


	4. The Darkness within The Heart pt I

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"-<strong>Tailed Beast or summoning talking  
><strong>'Hmm…'-<strong>Tailed Beast or summoning thinking  
><em><strong>"Hmm…"-<strong>_Dark Naruto

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: The Darkness within The Heart<strong>

"My heritage?" Naruto asked in wonder. This was the question he had always asked himself. Who were his parents? Did they abandon him? Where did he come from? The Sandaime always said he never knew. Now, though, Naruto was starting to believe he was lying, no he was definitely lying. After all, he was the Hokage! He knew everything that happened in the village, well legal matters at least. Knowing who his parents were was a simple matter compared to some other things. Unless his parents were some sort of high ranking criminals, which was highly unlikely. Wasn't it?

**"Yes." **The Kyuubi paused for a second after that. How should he start? With his mother, or his father? After a few more seconds of contemplating the matter, the bijuu made up his mind.

**"Let's start with your mother, shall we?"** This would be better than starting with the worst one. At least his mother didn't do anything that affected her son's life for the rest of his life. Naruto held his breath. Finally he would get his answers to the thing he wanted to know the most in the world, or so he thought.**"The name of your mother is Uzumaki Kushina."**

'Uzumaki?' Naruto thought.

**"The first thing you need to know is that she was my previous host…"**

"WHAT!?" Naruto interrupted in a scream. What the hell? His mother was a jinchuriki as well? But not any kind of jinchuriki, but the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi? Again, what the hell?

**"Yes, and do not interrupt me again, or I won't tell you anything else," **Kyuubi said while he glared at Naruto. Naruto took a breath in to calm himself down. 'Calm down Naruto. Just ask him anything you want after he's finished telling you everything.' This was way too important for him to just simply not get any answers because of his impatience. When Kyuubi saw that his container had calmed down, he began again.

**"As I was saying, your mother was my previous container. You see, she had special chakra that could hold back my own perfectly. That's the reason why she was brought to Konoha in the first place from her home which is by default your home as well. The place where the Uzumaki clan is from-Whirlpool." **Naruto's head was spinning at the moment with just this little bit of information. Uzumaki clan? He had a clan? He had always thought he was from some civilian family, and that the Yondaime Hokage had only picked him because he just happened to be born in the day that Kyuubi attacked the village. But it would seem that he was wrong all along. His mother was a shinobi. An important shinobi at that and probably a strong one as well. And she also came from an important and powerful clan as well. If only he knew that this was just the beginning of the things that he was going to learn. Suddenly, Kyuubi began to chuckle.

**"It's kinda of ironic, that so far, all of my containers have been Uzumakis." **At Naruto's confused expression, he elaborated some more.** "My first container was Uzumaki Mito, the wife of the Shodaime Hokage." **Naruto's eyes widened at that yet again. All of Kyuubi's containers were Uzumakis. To him, his clan was beginning to seem more important the more he learned about things, and this was just simply one aspect of things.

**"Anyway, the Uzumakis were an extremely powerful clan. Whey I told you that seal making was in your blood, it was because they were extremely powerful seal makers which was their main skill. You learning so quickly is proof enough of that. They were also powerful water and wind users, very skilled sword users, and had very high stamina." **Naruto was amazed at all of this, but who wouldn't be? His clan was amazing! It would seem that Sasuke wasn't the only one who came from a powerful clan after all.

**"The Uzumakis are also descendants from the Senju clan."** Another reason added to the list right there, even though Naruto would admit that he didn't know too much about the Senju clan except for the fact that they created Konoha. **"They split up from the Senju because they were tire of the fighting between the Senju and the Uchiha. The Senju and the Uchiha have always had a rivalry between each other. I don't know why the did, and I really don't care about it either."** Kyuubi lied when he said that. Of course he knew that it was because that they were the descendants of the two sons of the Sage of Six Paths who hated each other after the Sage of Six Paths died, well the older son did anyways. The younger one simply defended himself. But that would be saved for a later date. **"Basically, they split up from the Senju to get away from all the fighting and settled in an island, which they named Whirlpool or Uzu. With the help of seals, they were able to form a complicated defense of whirlpools, and several defensive barriers which no one could get in unnoticed. They also became like the middle way between the Senju and the Uchiha. After awhile, hidden villages began to form as you know them today. Afterwards, the legendary battle between Madara and Hashirama took place in the place you call 'The Valley of the End,' in which Madara summoned me and used me as his ultimate weapon against Hashirama to defeat him." **Naruto noticed that Kyuubi said that with anger in his voice. No it was more intense than anger. It was hatred. It would seem that he did not like being used like that. But who would?

**"Of course, Madara lost,"** continued Kyuubi,**"and he was killed, or so everyone believes. But that's off track. You see, the reason why Hashirama won was because Mito interfered in their fight and was able to seal me inside herself, and she hence became the first jinchuriki of me in history of the shinobi world. Time passed, and she aged like anyone else. So a new host was needed to keep me in bay. As soon as she died, I would simply be freed once more to cause more mayhem." **Kyuubi chuckled darkly at that for a moment, before continuing. **"But that's where your mother comes in to all of this. She was transferred to Konoha at a young age, and I'm sure you can guess why. Mito died shortly after that, and your mother became the new jinchuriki. But before going any further, there's something that you should know that happened." **Suddenly Kyuubi became even more serious. Naruto paid extra attention to this if that was possible at all. Simply knowing all that he was was important itself, but he knew that the next thing would be even more important than everything else so far.

Kyuubi paused for a few more seconds, before saying the something that changed the course of destiny forever. **"Konoha betrayed the Uzumakis."**

* * *

><p>"Shizune, please tell me that this is not true, and that it's just simply some sick joke."<p>

"I'm afraid not, Tsunade-sama."

"I'm gonna kill Jiraiya then." Apparently, Tsunade had just learned of Naruto's disappearance. And she was pissed! No, beyond pissed! How could Jiraiya lose track of Naruto? More importantly, why would Naruto leave in the first place? It simply made no damn sense at all! Right?

"Where is Jiraiya?" asked Tsunade with a growl.

"I don't know Tsunade-sama," answered Shizune. She herself was worried. Naruto was like a little brother to her. She only hoped that he was safe at the moment.

"Find him then! And when you do, get him to come here as quickly as possible!" Tsunade screamed to her young assistant while standing up from her chair.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" responded Shizune before running out the door, intent on accomplishing her new assignment.

Tsunade calmed herself down as she sat down. But then, she hit her desk, braking it into two pieces. When she saw Jiraiya again, she would kill him! Of all the irresponsible things that he had ever done so far, this was the worst of them all. 'Naruto, I hope you're alright,' thought Tsunade worriedly. If she lost him, she didn't know what she would do. He was the only person who she really cared about anymore, well besides Shizune that is. He was the only reason that she even came back to this damn village in the first place. She went to her secret vault of sake behind the portrait of herself next to all the other pass Hokages, taking out one bottle of sake and started to gulp it down.

If only she knew what destiny would bring next.

* * *

><p>"AAAAHHHH!"<p>

That was the scream of one ROOT Anbu as he was stabbed from behind and fell to the ground, dead.

"Where is he?" screamed another one as he looked around, trying to spot the assaulter.

"I don't know!" was the reply of another one as he was looking around as well. Suddenly the figure appeared behind the anbu, a sword in hand.

"You will die for what you have done," stated the figure emotionlessly.

"AAAAHHHHH!"

* * *

><p>"What?" Naruto said in a whisper. He didn't scream like the last time, something that Kyuubi was sure he would do. It would seem that it affected him more than he thought. He could feel the darkness growing in Naruto's heart after having learned the latest information. But he didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad one.<p>

**"Yes. You see, the Uzumakis were growing stronger, too strong in fact, something that the other nations didn't like, especially Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri. So, they combined their forces and attacked Whirlpool. The clan was wiped out, but not before they brought about half of their forces down with them as well. Your mother was lucky, brat. It had only been a few days after she had left that the attack on Uzu had begun. If she had been, she would have most likely been killed as well. But how did Konoha betray the Uzumakis you ask? That's simple. They were in an alliance with Uzu in which they would help each other if one was attacked in they're own territory and by an enemy more powerful. The Uzumakis kept their part of the bargain the whole time. However, Konoha did not. Your mother never knew any of this because she was still too young, but if she had, she would have never had been so loyal to Konoha as she was. They lied to her her whole life, and were lying to you as well."**

Naruto listened to everything. He couldn't believe all of this. All the time he had been fighting for a village that had betray his own clan. And his mother as well. He clenched his fists. They would pay. Konoha would definitely pay. He'd make sure of it, even if it was the last thing he did. Suddenly there was a chuckle.

_**"Hehehehe. It would seem as if it's my turn now." **_Kyuubi just sighed at the familiar voice. It would seem as if this would be a problem.

"Who said that?" asked Naruto as he looked around.

_**"That would be me." **_Next thing Naruto knew, another him appeared. Except it wasn't completely him. This him had ruby eyes just liked the Kyuubi, and looked darker than himself.

"Who are you?"

_**"Simple. I'm you."**_

"What? That's impossible. I'm the only me."

_**"Let me rephrase that. I'm your darkness."**_

"My darkness?"

_**"Yes. Where do you think all your anger went? All your dark thoughts about revenge on that damn village? Do you think that they simply disappeared? Well they didn't. They all came together and gave birth to me. Your evil self, your darkness. Basically anything dark about yourself." **_Naruto was speechless at that which was happening a lot today. So this is where all his negative emotions went to. Sometimes he had wondered why he had never truly felt anything dark about Konoha for everything that they had done to him during his childhood. He just received his answer.

_**"It would seem as if your darkness is growing. Learning about your, or I should say, our heritage seems to be making you regret everything that you ever believed in, am I right?"**_

"Yeah…" simply muttered Naruto.

**"What are you doing here?"**

_**"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to tell him who our…father is." **_Naruto's head popped up that. That's right. He still didn't know who his father was. Kyuubi just looked at Dark Naruto with curiosity.

**"Why?"**

_**"Because I want to personally see his reaction," **retorted the dark entity. _Naruto's curiosity rose up once more, his anger at Konoha forgotten at the moment.

_**"You see, my other self, our dear father is the same person who caused you to have your fucked up childhood, who caused you to have your miserable life, your greatest pain in this world. Uzumaki Naruto, our father is none other then Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage."**_

* * *

><p><strong>Hey!<strong>

**Next chapter is going to be Naruto's reaction to finding out who his father is, and his decision on what to do, as well more of the mysterious figure. Unfortunately, my next update is going to take awhile. I'm gonna be busy for the next couple of days.**

**Till next time.**


	5. The Darkness within The Heart pt II

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"-Tailed beast or Summoning<strong>  
><em><strong>"Hmm…"-<strong>_**Dark Naruto**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: The Darkness within the Heart Part II<strong>

**"THUMP"**

That was the sound that was made as the lifeless body of the ROOT anbu fell on the ground. It wasn't the only one either. In fact, the whole clearing was filled with dead ROOT anbu bodies. The only other living person was a person whose entire body was covered by a black cloak. You really couldn't see anything else about the person, except for the sword he or she was currently holding in his or her hand.

"Imbeciles…" muttered the figure. You could tell from the voice that it was a female.

"Danzo, you piece of shit. It seems as if you must be desperate if you're sending this many of your damn lackeys. I wonder what's going on for you to have done this?" continued to rant the now identified female.

"I can answer that." With that, another person joined the first one. This one was covered with a black cloak just like the first one was. Unlike the first one though, this one was a male.

"Hmph. What the fuck do you want?" asked the woman in an irritated voice.

"Hohohohoho. Pissed, are you?" said the man with humor in his voice unlike the woman.

"Tell me why you're here, or I'll slice you're fucking head off!"

"All right, all right!" the second figure said as he raised his hands in a surrendering manner. "It seems as if Kushina's son has gone missing for about a year now."

"Kushina's son?" From that statement, the female's whole demeanor changed to a more friendlier one. "What do you mean he's gone missing?"

"Hehehehe. Exactly what I said. Apparently he was on a training trip with Jiraiya, but he went missing. It seems as if he just left Jiraiya for some reason. He's been looking for him all over the place, but he can't find him anymore."

"So, that's why Danzo sent this many of his ROOT operatives then. He doesn't want to lose the power of the kyuubi…" muttered the female.

"Exactly."

"This is good. No, far from good. This is perfect! I've always wanted to get him from that hellhole, but he was always watched by those anbu under the command of the Sandaime, but now that he's left the village and Jiraiya, all I have to do is find him."

"How? He's gone under the radar, off the face of the earth. Finding him will be difficult. Not only that, but I thought you wanted to kill Danzo, as well as find your other target?" asked the male.

"They can wait for now. I might never have another opportunity like this. I'll find Naruto-kun and keep him safe. That's a promise." With that, the female left the clearing, intent on finding her new objective as fast as possible.

"My, my," muttered the male. "She seems enthusiastic. I better watch her back, just in case." With that, he too, left the clearing, following his companion.

* * *

><p>Kyuubi didn't know what he wanted to do the most right now. He could either just let Dark Naruto continue, or he could try to strangle him. But then Kyuubi thought about the second one. There was no way he could strangle Dark Naruto because he was trapped behind the cage that was held closed by the seal of the Yondaime. Not only that, but his claws were too big to fit through the opening between the bars of the cage in the first place. So he couldn't hurt, or kill Dark Naruto. That just plain sucked. If he ever met the Yondaime again in the afterlife, if he ever died that is, he would tear him to pieces for making him unable to kill someone when he wanted to. But enough about that. Let's get back to the conversation.<p>

"What?" Naruto said at a loss of words.

_**"You heard me. Your father is none other than Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, or the man who made your life a living hell. Any of those will do, but personally, I prefer the last one."**_

Naruto didn't know what to say to that. When he was just a little kid, he had always looked up to the Yondaime, but now that he knew that he was his father, he didn't know what to feel about him. His own father was responsible for the life that he had, and it wasn't a good one.

_**"I can tell that you're pretty confused right now. Not that anybody can blame you, since you just learned who your father is. But still! There's nothing to be confused about!"**_

"What the hell are you talking about? I just learned that the Yondaime, the guy who sealed the Kyuubi inside of me, who caused me to have my fucked up childhood, is my father! Yeah, there's nothing to be confused about!" yelled Naruto as he waved his arms around to emphasize his point.

_**"Exactly. Glad to know that you see my point." **_Dark Naruto said as he grinned from ear to ear.

Naruto just simply screamed to bent out his frustration. But it was a scream full of anger, powerful enough, since he was inside his mind, to send Dark Naruto to his knees from the shockwave. Kyuubi just covered his ears. The scream lasted for a few more seconds, then Naruto calmed down a little.

_**"Feeling better?" **_asked Dark Naruto as he got up.

"NO! I just want to rip something apart right now!"

_**"Hahahaha! Thats how I feel all the time!"**_

"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

_**"Calm yourself down."**_ Dark Naruto suddenly turned serious._**"It wouldn't do anybody any good if you let your anger take control of you and as a result, die. You don't want to turn like the**_ _**Uchiha, do you?"  
><strong>_  
>Naruto took deep breaths in, trying to control his anger. Dark Naruto was right. Letting anger control you was certainly a foolish thing.<p>

_**"Good. Now…"**_

**"Now nothing! I wasn't done yet."**

_**"Who gives a shit? There's nothing else he needs to know at the moment."**_ Dark Naruto turned to his other self. _**"What are you going to do now, my**_ _**other self?"**_

"Konoha…" muttered Naruto. "I once thought of that place as my home, I thought I had a bunch of friends there, I thought that with enough time, they would come to recognize me."

_**"And now?"**_

"Now," said Naruto as his eyes turned crimson, just like the Kyuubi, "all I want to see is that place destroyed. They betrayed my clan, my mother, and me. My _father_," he said the title with disgust, "made my life a living hell, all to protect those useless pieces of shit. I'm making a promise right now that I won't stop until they pay for all they did. I'm going to become strong enough to avenge my clan. That's a promise."

Dark Naruto just grinned, feeling Naruto's darkness within his heart increasing, making his power increase as well. It was better than he had ever expected.

Kyuubi just simply silently watched all of this, while thinking:**'It seems as if Konoha has it's days numbered. Well Yondaime, in the end your novel sacrifice was in vain, because Konoha is going to be destroyed by the last person that you would have ever suspected-your son.'**

* * *

><p>"What do you have to say for yourself?"<p>

"Please! Have mercy!"

"Wrong answer." Jiraiya just screamed in a high pitch as he was pounded into the ground by Tsunade. You see, Jiraiya had just arrived to Konoha after he was told by a squad of anbu that Tsunade had ordered him to return to the village immediately. Jiraiya was shit scared all the way back to Konoha. He suspected that Tsunade had learned that he lost Naruto. Why else would she have ordered him to return? Unless some other problem had arisen, which he doubted. His fears were confirmed the second he stepped into her office as he was beat senseless by his teammate, asking him where Naruto was. It was a fact that he had no idea where the brat was. He searched everywhere, all his contacts, but no one had heard, or seen him. Not only that, but he had cut off all ties with the toads somehow, something that hurt him. He thought that someday Naruto would become the next holder of the Toad summoning contract, just like Minato, but it would seem as if it would never happen now. Unless he brought the brat back, and things returned to where they use to be, but that seemed like an impossible outcome.

After a few more minutes of Jiraiya getting beat the crap out of him, Tsunade calmed down enough to talk to him.

"Jiraiya, you better hope he's alright, or else I _will _kill you! You hear me?" she said dangerously.

Jiraiya just nodded, understanding her anger. He had messed up this time, big time alright. There was no one he could blame for this. It was all him.

"Good. Now get out of my office before I start beating you again." Jiraiya quickly left, thankful that it hadn't been worse than it had been.

Tsunade sighed as she made to sit down. She would have to tell all of Naruto's friends what had happened. She only hoped that they would take it well, especially Sakura. After all, all of her teammates were now gone.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke just sighed as he walked back to his room in the base that he, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and many other Sound shinobi currently were residing in. Today, the training had been brutal, but he wasn't complaining. As long as he got the strength to kill Itachi, he didn't care about anything else. But currently, something else was occupying his mind. That was his old teammate-Naruto.<p>

'Dobe, what are you up to?'

You see, Sasuke had just found out that Naruto had managed to sneak out from his training trip with Jiraiya undetected from Orochimaru and Kabuto. But it didn't make sense to him. Why would he leave? Naruto's dream was to become strong enough so that he could become Hokage, and what better way to do it from a Sannin? Right?

He reached the door to his room, opened it, closed it, and went to get some rest for tomorrow's training, all the time not thinking what the future would bring next.

* * *

><p>The two figures were currently traveling at high speed through the Land of Fire's forest.<p>

"Would you slow down!" screamed the male.

"If you can't keep up, then don't even try to follow me, cause I'm not slowing down!" yelled back the female.

"Here I am, trying to help her, and what do I get? Screaming, that's what!" complained the male.

The female just ignored him, focusing on finding the last location in which Naruto was seen at. 'Honestly, that Jiraiya. How could he let a genin leave undetected just like that? Then again, this is Jiraiya I'm talking about. He was probably distracted by some random woman. And Naruto-kun, to think he managed to pull it off, I'm so proud of him!' thought the female.

"Hey, you mind telling me why you're trying to find this kid? I mean, I know he's Kushina's son, but still..." asked the male.

The female just looked back at him. "I'm trying to help him because I wasn't able to do so when he was younger. I know I should have tried harder, but certain...circumstances made it impossible, and you know very well what those were. Now I'm trying to correct my mistake, any way possible, and **no one **is going to stop me." With that, she turned back, looking forward.

"I see. And, you wouldn't have... alternative motives for doing this, am I right?" the male asked as he wiggled his eyebrows showing what he meant.

The female's eyebrows twitched. "If you ever say that again, I'll rip your fucking balls off! Am I clear?"

"Cristal!"

"Good."

The male simply shook his head silently. Of course he knew a lot about Uzumaki Naruto. A lot more than his 'partner' did, but she didn't even know that. And he wasn't going to tell her either. But the male realized something-this could be the beginning of everything that he had been told. Of course, many other things had to happen before he absolutely believed that. But this was a start.

'Uzumaki Naruto,' thought the male, 'let's see if you really are the person that I was told about...'

* * *

><p><strong>Yo!<strong>

**I'm back! So I finally got the free time to write this up after having an awesome weekend. Hope you like it. There's nothing else that I have to say. Review!.**

**Till next time.**


	6. The Summoning Contract

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**  
><strong>"Hmm"-Tailed Beast or Summoning<strong>  
><em><strong>"Hmm"<strong>_**-Dark Naruto**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: The Summoning Contract<strong>

"AAHHH! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

That was the scream of one fat man named Dan Hoshi. Hoshi was one of the most wanted man of the Elemental Nations for kidnapping women and selling them into slavery in his corporation. He was one of the most richest men in the world, had hundreds, maybe thousands, of women at his disposal for 'personal' use, had his personal army of mercenaries, even a few rogue shinobi among them, and was one of the fattest men in the world, thanks to all the money that he had.

But right now, none of that matter for shit. You see, it was one of the regular nights for Hoshi-go to the one of the clubs that he owned, have a couple of drinks with associates and friends, find a good woman from his selection, and finish the day off with an awesome night. But all that went down the drain when suddenly somebody, he didn't know who cause the figure was hidden in a black cloak, started massacring everybody in the club! Even all the men that he called, hundreds, all killed in minutes! Never in his life had he ever been more afraid than at this moment.

He stopped running down the alley when he reached a dead end. "NO! Not now, please!" he pleaded to himself. Suddenly, someone appeared right behind him.

"Hmm…" said the figure, "you really run fast for someone with your weight." From the deep voice, it was a man.

"Please! Don't kill me! I'll double, no triple, whatever you were paid!"

"You think I'm doing this for money?" asked the man with a scoff.

"Then I'll give you anything that you want! Land, power, women! I have plenty of those!" said Hoshi with desperation in his voice.

"You're a fool. People like you make me sick." Disgust was clear in his tone. He took out a sword hidden within his cloak.

"NO! PLEASE!" His plea went unanswered as the figure brought the sword down and sliced his head off with precision. The head fell down, and rolled towards the figure's feet. He merely looked at it, icy blue eyes starring at the head, and then he kicked it towards the dead body in the ground.

"Idiot. People like him are simply completely useless," muttered the figure.

**"Hehehehe. Indeed. Humans like him are pitiful, and weak. Nice work though. Burn the body and let's take the head to collect the bounty."**

"As I said, I didn't do this just for the money. Now there's one less person women have to worry about, and one less useless moron that needs to be fed."

**"Whatever brat."**

Naruto just picked up the head and putted inside one the bags that he carried thanks to storage scrolls, and then he burned the body with a quick fire jutsu.

**"Another bounty. This one is going to be big, don't you think?"**

'Yeah, even if I don't need the money.' Indeed, Naruto had become a mercenary/bounty hunter about 3 months ago. Thanks to all the bounties that he had acquired, he had millions in his personal account. This served a couple of purposes. One-it helped him get use to killing, two-a little extra practice in his stealth abilities, and 3-it helped him to be on the move faster. About 5 months ago, he noticed that someone was following him. He didn't know who, and he didn't want to find out either. This was the shinobi world after all. He was now 15 years-old, almost 16. He was taller now, something he was graceful for, standing at about 6'3. His voice had also deepened, another thing that he was grateful for. He was now an S-rank shinobi. His training was almost complete, just a couple of things were left, like a summoning. Having discarded the toad contract, he was now in need of one. Having a summoning would definitely him as a support.

After he had cut off his contract with the toads, he hadn't worried about it at all. But thanks to Kyuubi's reasoning and his own thoughts of the subject, he decided that having one would be a good advantage over his future opponents.

'I still don't know what summoning will be a good one though,' thought Naruto as he continued to walk towards one of the cash houses.

**"I have one in mind, but I'll tell you after we collect the money and get some rest."**

'Good idea.'

* * *

><p><strong>"CHIDORI!"<strong>

The sound of birds chirping could be heard as Sasuke smashed his favorite jutsu on a gigantic boulder. He smirked as he saw how the rock went into thousands of little pieces. He could now do the **Chidori **for more than two times, and thanks to the curse mark and his chakra levels increasing, it could become even more powerful.

'Yes,' Sasuke thought in satisfication, 'my training is almost complete, and then I'll be able to kill Orochimaru.' Sasuke was fully aware of what Orochimaru's intentions were since the beginning. And there was no way in hell that he was about to let that snake freak take control of _his _body.

'After all, I still haven't experience the best part of being young.' Indeed, Sasuke couldn't wait to find a suitable woman to recreate his clan. Contrary to popular belief, he had always been interested in the opposite sex, but not the ones that had always surrounded him. He wanted a woman that was strong, one who could defend herself and keep up with him. As well as have a backbone. A real kunoichi. Not all the girls in the academy whom he met, and that didn't know anything related to being a ninja. All they cared about were his name and his looks, not even bothering in trying to get to know him before saying that they 'loved' him. Talk about shallow...

'Better not waste my thoughts on them. I have better things to worry about.' For example, his old teammate and the only person he had ever considered a friend-Naruto.

'Dobe, you better have gotten stronger, or else I'm going to be disappointed when we meet.' Sasuke wanted a rematch with Naruto. To truly fight him, and neither to hold back. He didn't count when they fought at the Valley of the End, since Naruto had let him win after all, something that he didn't like at all. That was why he had spared him, among other reasons.

'Yes. That's something else to look forward to.' With that last thought, he resumed his training.

* * *

><p>"Okay. This is bullshit! How long have tracked this kid for? And still we haven't found him yet!"<p>

"Be a man, and stop whinning will you?"

"Tch…" Indeed, it had been about 9 months since both of the unknown shinobi had started looking for Naruto, but they couldn't find him, no matter what they did! When ever they found a trace of him, it lead to no where! And then they found another one, and the pattern kept on repeating. That kid had impressive skills for hiding his tracks, reasoned the male. 'Konoha was an idiot for mistreating him.'

As for his partner, she was focusing on detecting anything that will lead them, or better yet, her, to Naruto. She didn't care about her partner at the moment. They were investigating the exact alley in which Naruto had killed Hoshi the night before, not that they knew of course.

"Ok, someone was definitely here," stated the female as she looked at the dried blood on the ground.

"Yeah, and someone was also killed here," retorted the male.

"You are really starting to irritate me."

"Yeah, well what else is new?"

The female just rolled her eyes. "C'mon, let's followed the scent." With that, they moved on, street from street and then out to the outskirts of the village until they came into a building that they both recognized instantly, and it also surprised them both greatly.

"One of those cash houses, where bounties are collected," stated the male with surprise present in his voice.

"Yeah…" the female didn't say anything else, but her mind was working overtime. 'If he was here it could only mean one thing-he was collecting a bounty. Which means that he's become a bounty hunter, and the blood we saw earlier in that alley was of his last target. Interesting. I would never have thought that you had it in you, Naruto-kun. Once again, you amaze me.' With that in mind, she moved toward the building, and her companion had no choice but to follow her.

"Heh. I would never have thought that that kid could kill in cold-blood. I wonder what else has changed…" muttered the male, coming to the same conclusion as his partner as to why they were here.

"It seems as if he's finally growing up," responded the female.

"Maybe…" muttered the male, although he had to agree.

The two of them reached the door, and the female knocked on the door, and some creepy guy with one eye opened it halfway. "Can I help you?" he said in a hard voice.

"Yes, we're looking for someone. We believe he came this way. Can you help us identify him?" said the female in a cheerful voice.

"No. Now leave." With that, the man slammed the door, leaving an irritated woman on the other side.

"HAHAHAHAHA! It seems you lost your feminism. It would seem as if age is catching up to you." That's it. With that comment from her partner, the female kicked the door open, finding a shocked man on the other side. But that wasn't the only thing. It would seem as if he was about to have 'intercourse' with a young lady about 16 years-old.

The male whistled. "Heh. Now we know why he was so hasty. I take back my comment about you being old." The female didn't pay attention to him. Rather, she suddenly appeared on the other side of the room with the man on her hold, choking him, her sword pointed at what made him a man.

"Now that wasn't very nice, was it?. Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's not nice to slam doors at women when they want something?" Her companion was laughing his head off in the background. "Now, if you don't want to lose your 'friend', I suggest you tell us who we're looking for."

"Tch. Fine! I'll tell you what you want. Just promise to leave afterwards," agreed the old man reluctantly seeing no other way to save his precious 'jewel.'

"Now we're talking."

* * *

><p>Sakura couldn't believe what had happened in the last two years. They were gone. Her teammates, both of them, were gone. Why? That was the only thing that she could ask herself. Why would they leave her behind? Especially Naruto. He was the most surprising of the two. Wasn't it his dream to become hokage? He couldn't do that if he was out there, doing whatever it was that he was doing, and not here in the village. And Sasuke. She kind of understood why he left. Revenge. To get strong enough to defeat his brother to avenge his clan. But that didn't mean that she liked it. Even after she told him that she loved him, he still left. It would seem as if he didn't feel the same way she felt. And that really hurt her. Deep.<p>

But she would worry about her personal feelings later. For now, all that matter to her was to get her teammates back. That was the reason why she was training with Tsunade. To get stronger so she could catch up to her teammates and get them back, no matter what. That was her mission at the moment, and she _would _complete it, so that everything could be back to normal, and Team 7 would be reunited. For things to return to how they were before Orochimaru ever came into the picture.

If only she knew that nothing could ever be back to normal. If only...

* * *

><p>Uchiha Itachi. The youngest shinobi to have ever become an anbu captain. The single man who killed his entire clan in one night, including his parents. The most powerful Uchiha at the moment. He could not believe what he was hearing.<p>

"Are you sure about this Zetsu?"

"Yes, Pain-sama. The Kyuubi jinchuriki has become more powerful than we had ever anticipated. He could probably rival Itachi."

Said named individual just kept silent, but not his partner.

"That's simply not possible. We met the brat 2 years ago. He was pathetic. There's no way he could be as strong as you say he is," stated Kisame with a scoff.

"Are you doubting my skills?" asked Zetsu dangerously.

"What if I am? There's nothing you can do about it. After all, I'm stronger than you," said Kisame with arrogance.

"ENOUGH!" screamed Pain. "Kisame, do not doubt Zetsu. His skills in tracking and spying are the best in all of Akatsuki. If he says he's sure, than it must be. You met the Kyuubi jinchuriki 2 years ago, and that's enough time for an individual to become powerful if he or she has the necessary motivation. Believe me, I know..."

Kisame decided to not say anything else in the matter. After all, he knew Pain was stronger than him, and could kill him if he ever wanted to. He might love a battle, but even he knew when it wasn't smart to take place in one.

"What are we going to do?" asked Sasori within his favorite puppet.

"Yes, this could prove to be troublesome," added Kakuzu. As much as he hated to admit it, he recognized skill went he saw or heard of it. It was one of the things that had kept alive this whole time. And unlike Kisame, he believed on what Zetsu told them.

"Who cares! I'll just make him a sacrifice!" said Hidan enthusiastically. Deidara decided not to say anything at all.

"While this is not welcomed news, the plan still remains unchanged. We will continue to hunt the jinchuriki soon. So get whatever you need to be done, done. Is that clear?" stated Pain to all the members of the akatsuki.

"HAI."

"Good. Dismissed."

* * *

><p>Itachi opened his eyes as he returned his consciousness back to his real body.<p>

"Fucking Zetsu..." muttered Kisame.

Itachi paid him no mind. He was currently thinking on what to do now. 'How? First you leave, and the next thing I know you become powerful enough that you can rival me. You are full of surprises Naruto-kun.'

* * *

><p>"So this contract is really powerful?"<p>

**"Yes, it is."**

Currently Naruto was in his mind discussing what summoning contract he should get. And Kyubbi really had a good one in mind.

"Dragons…" muttered Naruto. The Dragon summoning contract. The most powerful summonings out there. No one had had ever been able to obtain in thousands of years, or so the rumors went. It was rumored that the last summoner for them was at the time of The Sage of Six Paths. No one knew what the test was to be able to be a summoner for them, because all the hopeful souls that went to try to be the new summoner, never returned. Talk about a mystery.

_**"Why use summons? Just blow everything up!"**_

"No. There might come a time when I'll probably need them. It would be better to be prepared," retorted Naruto.

_**"Heh. You're finally using your brain and thinking ahead, huh. I gotta say, I'm impressed. But you'll have to be careful. We don't know what kinda test they're gonna give you." **_He said the last part seriously, and Naruto had to agree with him. He'll have to be careful. He couldn't just rush in, or it'll probably be the end of him.

"Alright, then, Kyubbi. Where's the contract located?"

Kyuubi grinned to himself. This would be the last test before he could decide wether Naruto was worthy or not.

* * *

><p>"I hate walking…"<p>

"Don't you do anything else besides whine?"

"Don't you do anything else besides bitch? Seriously, you need to get laid. It will relieve you of all your stress."

"Do you want me to cut your balls off?" The male just shrank back. "That's what I thought."

"Crazy bitch…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing!"

The unusual duo just continued walking down the road, something the male could not stand. "Why aren't we tree hoping? I mean, we can do that!"

"If we do, it'll alert him that we're coming."

"I think that he already knows that."

"Yeah, he probably does. But we'll catch him at some point. I know."

"How?"

The female grinned to herself. "Call it a woman's intuition."

* * *

><p>Naruto could not believe what his eyes we're seeing. That was one huge mountain! Just why did things always have to be so difficult? No one could make anything simple nowadays.<p>

**"This is it brat. Good luck."**

_**"One final advice: DON'T DIE. Oh, and if you fight a female dragon, try to feel her up, it might help."**_

Naruto just shook his head as Dark Naruto laughed within his mind. He could never get use to his weird humor. Naruto cleared his head of all distracting thoughts, took a breath in, and made his way to the mountain.

"This is it…"

* * *

><p><strong>YO!<strong>

**Sorry for not updating earlier, but I've been busy with exams at school. But it's finally over! No more studying! Well, until next year, that is. And one final thing-my next update won't probably be until next year. I'll try to get one more chapter in, but thats a big IF. I'm off from school for christmas but I'll probably get lazy and not write at all. So just in case-**

**Happy Christmas and New year.**


	7. The Dragon's Test

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
><strong>**"Hmm…"**-Tailed beast or summoning  
><em><strong>"Hmm…"<strong>_-Dark Naruto

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: The Dragon's Test<strong>

**"Wait a second."**

_**"What is it?"**_

The kyuubi narrowed his eyes. **"Why are you being helpful? I thought you wanted to fight Naruto so that you could beat him, take over his body and be free."**

_**"I did, and I still want to be free. But for the moment I'm please."**_

**"What do you mean by that?"**

Dark Naruto sighed. _**"Just look at him. He's not being the idiot that he once was! He's actually strong now, and best of all he's letting his darkness out. So, you see kyuubi, I have no complaints, for the moment at least."**_

**"So, if he were to go back to the way he was…"**

_**"Then I would fight him, and take over this body to be used better. You're catching up."**_

**"So, as of right now, you're not going to fight him?"**

_**"Nope. Again, I have no reason to. If I were to have one, though…"**_

**"I see…"**

_**"Are you satisfied with this?"**_

_**"Personally, I don't care, because I know Naruto would defeat you."**_

Dark Naruto narrowed his eyes._** "What do you mean by that?"**_ he asked dangerously.

_**"Heh. We both know he's too stubborn to be defeated and to allow someone else to take over his body. That part of him hasn't changed, and I don't think it'll ever change."**_

Dark Naruto laughed. But it wasn't an ordinary laugh. It was a laugh that could make the ordinary person shit himself. Kyuubi just kept silent.

After awhile, the laughed died down. _**"You're right about that kyuubi. Once he puts something in his mind, it's nearly impossible to get it out of his mind. But again, I'm not going to fight him…yet. Now, lets see how he does with his test, shall we?"**_

* * *

><p>"You have got to be joking with me."<p>

"I'm afraid I'm not."

"But, Raikage-sama…"

"No buts! This is an order."

Nii Yugito, the sexy blonde jinchuriki of the 2 tailed cat, sighed. "But why do I have to go with _them_?" She pointed at the team standing to the side. This particular team was the famous team of Killer Bee which consisted of the busty and another sexy blonde by the name of Samui. Her boobs were on par to that of the legendary Tsunade, an impressive feat. She was also the calmest person on the team and by far the most normal person. Next was a dark skinned girl who had _no bust _but still sexy in a way by the name of Karui. She was the one who had the most temper in the team. After her was another dark skinned person, but he was a male. He had white hair and kinda spiky though not that much. He was a person who took _everything_ into account which resulted in him getting almost impossible outcomes, which in return resulted him getting hit by Karui. His name is Omoi. And the last person is Killer Bee himself, not paying attention to anything around him, instead he was writing something in his little book that he always carried with him that contained all of his rap.

**(AN: I'm ashamed to say this, but I can't rap for shit. Really, even if my life depended on it, I would still suck. So I'm gonna have to make Bee talk normally.)**

Yugito really didn't have a problem with Samui, since she was normal, and she could actually have a _regular _conversation with her, but the rest…

You get the idea.

The Raikage, or A, sighed. "I understand where you're coming from." Ignoring the cry of outrage from Karui, he continued. "But they're the best team in all of Kumo. It will be better if someone you knew had your back, since, even if you don't want to admit it, you're actually friends with them. Whoever managed to get inside our country halfway undetected must not be dealt with lightly."

Again, Yugito sighed. "I understand."

A nodded. "Good. Now here are the details…"

'This is gonnna suck.' was the thought of Yugito.

If only she knew how much this mission would change her life.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean they're all dead?" askedscreamed Danzo.

"Exactly that sir. All 3 squads were killed with extreme precision," said one ROOT anbu.

Danzo leaned back in his chair, frustrated. "Who did it? Was it Uzumaki Naruto?"

The anbu shook his head. "We don't know."

"WELL THEN FIND OUT!"

"Hai." With that the anbu left.

Danzo tried to calm himself down. It wasn't easy, considering the fact that he lost 3 squads of 8 like that when he didn't have that many subordinates thanks to Sarutobi canceling his program.

'Who could have done this?' thought Danzo.

Who indeed…

* * *

><p>"How long?" asked a raspy voice<p>

"Just a day left, Orochimaru-sama. You have been putting the soul transfer off for too long," answered Kabuto.

"Kukukukuku. That's because I want Sasuke-kun to be as ready as he can be when I take over his body." After that he started coughing up blood. Kabuto ran to his master's side, checking his vitals.

"I'll go get you your medicine." With that he ran out of the room, to his lab where he kept his medicine. 'It doesn't matter any more,' he thought. 'All I can do is lessen the pain. He's gonna have to transfer bodies today. I wonder how Sasuke-kun will take the news...'

Back in Orochimaru's room, he was laughing even though he kept coughing up blood. 'As soon as I have Sasuke-kun's body, Itachi and Madara won't stand a chance against me. Hell, not even the Akatsuki combined will,kukukukukuku.' As his train of thought finished, he sensed something outside his door, which happened to be a sword made out of lighting. He brought his hands up for defense, wincing when the sword made contact.

'The nature of this chakra, but I have never seen this type of chakra form,' thought Orochimaru. "Who's there?" he barely asked, due to the amount of pain he was going through, not only from the lighting sword, but from the body that he currently residing in because it was rejecting him.

The door was sliced and shattered. And there, in all his glory, stood Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

><p>"This is not right!"<p>

"K-K-K-i-i-b-b-a-a-kun, p-plea-ase t-try t-to c-calm d-down."

"Hinata is right Kiba."

"Shut up Ino! Just because he's not as 'cool' as Sasuke doesn't mean you can just treat him like shit!"

"HEY!"

"What are you gonna do about it blondie?"

"Enough!" screamed Neji. "We're all worry Kiba. So don't try to take all your frustration on us."

It had been about a week since the 'Rookie 12', or 10 cause Sasuke and Naruto were not there anymore, had found out that Naruto had disappeared. Ever since then, Kiba had been trying to convince Tsunade to let him look for Naruto, but she always refused, which infuriated him.

"How's Sakura taking this?" asked Tenten.

"Sakura-san..." muttered Lee.

"I don't know," answered Ino.

"She must be stressed, considering both of her teammates left," said Shino.

"Probably..."muttered Ino. She then looked at Shikamaru. "What do you think?"

He didn't answer her, instead he just kept staring at empty space. After awhile of this, Ino started to become aggravated. Then he spoke,"I think Naruto left on his own." Everybody looked at him. Shikamaru never said something unless he had proof. "Think about it. Acoording to Jiraiya-sama, there was no sign of a struggle, unless Naruto was caught off guard. Even then, Naruto would have try to contact Jiraiya-sama, but nothing."

"Maybe he couldn't," said Ino.

"Maybe, or maybe Naruto has left Konoha on his free will."

* * *

><p>"I sense him. We're getting close."<p>

"Really? The brat must be doing something important to stay in one location. What's the plan?"

"First we have to get closer to see where he has stopped," said the female.

"Hmm…My bet is those mountains. It's the closest thing."

"I think so too. Lets go."

* * *

><p>Yugito used her heighten senses, thanks to the Nibi, to look for their targets as they made their way to the central of Kumo controlled land.<p>

"Did you find them yet?" asked Samui.

"No...wait. I just picked up a couple of scents heading to the mountain ranges."

"Then lets go, YO!" was the enthusiastic reply from Killer Bee.

Yugito shook her head, wondering why she had such weird friends.

**"There's nothing wrong with that kitten."**

'Tell me one upside to this.'

**"Life is never boring, which is a good thing if you ask me."**

'I suppose...'

**"It's a fact. Now what you need and what will make you happy is a man to yourself."**

Yugito quietly groaned to herself. She always hated when Nibi said that she needed a man. She was perfectly fine, in her opinion.

**"No you're not. I mean, you're still a vir-..."**

'NIBI! SHUT THE HELL UP!'

**"Defensive are we?"**

'You know I don't like it when you talk about this'

**"If you want me to stop, then get laid. That will definitely shut me up."**

Yugito mentally cursed fate. Why did she have to get the sex-obsessed tailed beast?

**"You know you love me."**

* * *

><p>Naruto continued to walk further down the tunnel he found. After a few more minutes, he reached an area where the tunnel spread out and became just like a room. A huge room. He looked around, when suddenly movement caught his eyes. He unstrapped his sword, ready in case of an attack.<p>

**"Who dares to come in here?"**

'Dragon.' was the thought of Naruto. "Uzumaki Naruto."

There was silence. Then the dragon spoke again. **"Uzumaki?"**

"Yes."

**"Hah. Uzumakis have red hair boy. You are a blond."**

"I know. My mother was an uzumaki, but my…father wasn't. I got my features from him."

The dragon came out the shadows, and Naruto finally got a good look at him. He had a red color skin, even his eyes were red, just like fire. He had sharp claws on his hands and feet, and 2 big wings.

**"So you're a hybrid?"**

Naruto shrugged. "You could say that, yes. But why are you interested if I'm an uzumaki or not?"

The dragon grinned, or so Naruto thought. **"The answer is simple boy-The Uzumaki clan were our** **original summoners."**

"What! But I thought that your last summoner…"

**"That our last summoner was around the time of the Sage of Six Paths, right?"**

"Yeah…"

**"Well that's wrong. Nobody knew, except for the Senju and the Uchiha, that they were our summoners because they really didn't need us. As time went on, and the uzumaki clan was destroyed, the other 2 clans forgot that they were our summoners."**

"I see…"

**"Now, I'm guessing you're here because you want to be our new summoner, am I right?"**

"That's right."

**"Well, you have to pass one simple test-you have to defeat me in combat."**

"I thought you would never say that."

* * *

><p>"He must be in here."<p>

"Sounds like someone is fighting in there. What do you think he's doing in there?"

"I don't know…" muttered the female.

"Wait," said the male. "Looks like we have company."

With that, Yugito, Killer Bee and his team landed in front of them.

* * *

><p><strong>"DRAGON STYLE:GRAND FIREBALL!"<strong>

"Shit!" screamed Naruto as he dodged a big ass fireball. It look like the one the uchiha clan created, but on steroids.

'Dragon Style?' thought Naruto as he landed.

**"Yes. The dragons use they're on style where they create techniques from they're own natural element. This dragon's element is fire."**

'Good to know.' **"WIND STYLE:WIND BULLETS!"**

The dragon didn't even flinch as the wind bullets hit him.

**"You're gonna have to use stronger techniques, or else you're just gonna waste your chakra, something that you cannot do."**

"Tch…" Naruto jumped as the dragon tried to crush him with his claw.

**"Come. You have to do better if you want to defeat me."**

Naruto made 5 clones in midair, each creating a different elemental rasengan.

"Try this!" They all went towards the dragon, but they didn't count on the dragon flying. "What! This place isn't big enough for you to do that!"

**"Heh. This whole cave has seals all over the place, making it how small or big I want it."**

Naruto narrowed his eyes while on the ground. "Well then, I'm gonna have to fix that." After that stament, he threw his Rasen-shuriken at the air, then it expanded.

**'I see, so that's what he's trying to do. Smart. I'll lose the advantage after this.'** As soon as he finished, the jutsu blew up, destroying the whole cave.

* * *

><p>Outside, they all saw the cave blow up. The male whistled. "That's big stuff right there."<p>

From the smoke, they saw something rise up. "Is that…" muttered Yugito. Her suspicions were proven true when the injured dragon tried to fly, but failed as one of his wings was damaged. Then, he saw Naruto standing up, a few cuts but nothing serious.

**'That was reckless,'** thought the dragon,**'he could have killed himself. I gotta give him credit though. He managed level the field. Now I can't fly, nor do I have the home turf. I might lose.'**

'I'm gonna have to finish this right now,' thought Naruto as he summoned all the chakra he had.

**"Trying to do this quickly, are you boy?"**

"I don't like to drag things out. I might have only seen one of your techniques, but thanks to that I know that I can't let you do any of you're stronger ones or else I'll be toast."

**"You're too late. DRAGON STYLE:FIRE DRAGON CANNON!"** A huge beam of fire shot out of his mouth, hotter, and more powerful than the previous fireball.

As soon as the technique made contact, a big explosion surrounded the area, making the others take cover.

"What the hell is going on?" asked the male.

"I don't know!" answered the female.

"Yugito, we have to make sure they don't escape," said Bee.

"I know."

As soon as the dust disappeared and the explosion died down, they saw the dragon looking where Naruto had once been. **"It's over."**

"No it's not." The dragon's eyes widened as he turned around to see Naruto standing on a ledge with his arm raised in the air.

**"How did you survive?"**

"It doesn't matter cause it's over. **LIGHTING STYLE: LIGHTING RAY!"** The dragon looked up to see lighting coming out of the darkened clouds, and heading towards him. He didn't have enough time to move so the jutsu hit him straight on.

**'Looks like I lost.'** That was his last thought as he was hit.

Naruto panted as his vision started to go black. 'I used the last of my chakra with that last move.' The last thing he heard was kyuubi's voice.

**"Good job brat. Be ready for what's happening next."**

* * *

><p><strong>Yo!<strong>

**I have no idea, why I updated. I just got in the mood for writing, and chapter 6 was complete. And can someone can PM me for a good name for the dragon Naruto fought, because I can't come up with one.**

**Till next time.**


	8. New Allies

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
><strong>**"Hmm…"-**Tailed beast or summoning  
><em><strong>"Hmm…"<strong>_- Dark Naruto

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: New allies<strong>

_**"Is he dead?"**_

**"Don't be ridiculous. It would take more than chakra depletion to kill him."**

_**"How sad…"**_

**"I thought you didn't want to kill him right now?"**

_**"I don't, but have you seen who's taking care of him right now? She's a beauty you don't see often. It would be a good opportunity to have some fun, wouldn't you agree?"**_

**"Perhaps…"**

Dark Naruto sighed. _**"Oh, right. I forgot you don't feel the same emotions as me and my other self since you're just a huge amount of chakra."**_

**"And you? You're just a combination of all of Naruto's dark emotions."** retorted kyuubi.

Dark Naruto wiggled his index finger with a smirk on his face, _**"Now, that's not true. I'm his dark part, meaning I'm still him, meaning I have emotions such as lust, meaning I can have sexual desires, meaning that I could fuck that sexy woman out there if I had the chance!"**_

Kyuubi simply decided to remain silent, not interested in the topic of the conversation anymore. After a few more minutes of silence, Dark Naruto was about to scream in frustration when they saw Naruto appearing in his mind.

Dark Naruto growled. _**"About time you woke up, you idiot!"**_

Naruto simply held his head in his hands. "I feel terrible."

_**"What do you expect?"**_ said Dark Naruto as he rolled his eyes._** "You just woke up after a chakra depletion. Why did you even use that move in the first place? I thought kyuubi told you to use it only in emergencies."**_

"It was an emergency! That dragon was strong, and if I didn't finish the fight as quickly as I did, I would have lost."

**"Enough of this pointless arguing! There are more important matters at the moment."**

"Such as?"

**"The people taking care of you at the moment."**

Dark Naruto grinned at being reminded of the subject and Naruto simply stared at kyuubi. "What people?"

**"After you passed out, they brought you to some village in the Land of Lighting. It seems as if they're the ones that were following you. There's also some ninjas from Kumo and the situation is tense out there."**

_**"Oh yeah! That blonde kumo kunoichi is also a beauty. It would be pretty hard to choose from those two…"**_

"What is he talking about?" asked Naruto as pointed at his dark self who was in deep thought.

Kyuubi just sighed. **"Don't worry about that. The thing you do have to worry about is how you're going to get outta here. It will be difficult considering the fact that you're body won't recover for a few more days."**

Naruto thought about it until he asked what had been bugging him ever since he found out someone had been chasing him, "Are they hostile?"

**"I don't know."**

_**"I will tell you this though,"**_ began Dark Naruto as he joined the conversation, _**"one of them is a piece of heaven!"**_

Naruto and kyuubi stared at Dark Naruto. After a few seconds of this, Dark Naruto began to get scared, if that was even possible. _**"What?"**_

"You believe in heaven?" asked Naruto.

_**"Oh, that."**_ The dark entity waved his hand in dismissal. _**"Hell no. It was simply a metaphor. If there was one though, I'm pretty sure she would…"**_

**"Enough! Just shut the hell up! Brat, what are you going to do?"**

"I'm going to have to see what they want, not that I have a choice."

Kyuubi nodded.** "I suppose you're right."**

Then Naruto begin to feel a pull. "It seems I'm about to wake up."

The kyuubi nodded. **"Good luck." **With that Naruto disappeared, and Dark Naruto took his place.

_**"Hahahahaha! This is going to be fun!"**_

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is a good idea?" whispered the male to the female.<p>

"No, I don't. But if we attack them, it would cause more problems that we don't need at the moment. I'd rather that we don't make enemies with Kumo."

The male looked at his partner incredulously. "Since when?"

The female just gave him 'the look.' "Just don't do anything stupid or you'll regret it."

The male took a step back. "I got it."

On the other side of the room, the kumo shinobi were having their own conversation.

"Yugito, what are we going to do?" asked Samui.

"We'll just wait for now." answered Yugito. The fact was that she didn't think she was strong enough to fight the other 2 shinobi, especially the female. She could tell that she was at least kage level, and that said something. She would consider herself at high jounin level, perhaps low kage. She always prided herself for being strong, but she knew when she was outmatch. 'Although, if Bee and I team up, we could probably take her, but that would leave the others to take the man, and I'm pretty sure he's strong enough that they won't be able to handle him.' At the present situation, all they could do is wait.

After 5 minutes of tense quite and starring, the only unconscious person begin to stir, catching the attention of every person in the room.

The female ran to his side, making sure that the others wouldn't get to close, even her companion, something he noticed with a smirk.

The first thing Naruto saw when he woke up was black eyes, reminding him of Sasuke. Then his vision cleared enough for him to see who they belonged to. When he did, he had to agree with his evil counterpart; she was beautiful. She had long black hair tied in a ponytail that reached to her back, a beautiful round shape face, long sexy legs, big bust, not up to Tsunade's level, but big nonetheless, and a round behind, wearing a black skirt with a short black shirt showing her stomach and the muscles that came with it showing how hard she trained, with long white sleeves, and black gloves. In the end, she was the best looking woman he had seen in his short 15 years of living.

Naruto mentally shook his head from those thoughts. He had more important things to worry about at the moment. He then begin to take notice of the others in the room. He saw a man beside her. He too had black eyes and black hair, making him wonder if they were related. His hair though was almost like his, spiky. He was wearing black cargo pants with a long black sleeve shirt with the collars raised. He seemed to be amused by something. The other occupants were wearing the standard kumo jounin uniform, except for one of the blondes, and again he had to agree with his other self. She too was stunning.

She had blond hair like him, except a little darker. It reached to her back and was also tied in a pony tail.

**(I don't want to describe the way she looks, cause I'm pretty sure you all know what she looks like.)**

Naruto tried to stand up, but the female put her hands on his shoulders, making him halt. "I wouldn't try that if I were you. Your body is still too weak from your earlier fight."

He tried to resist, but he knew she was right. So he just sat on the only bed in the room. After that, silent reigned. After a few more moments of this, he decided to find out who they were. "Mind telling who you are and what you're doing here?"

"Oh, where are my manners," said the female, "my name is Uchiha Mikoto, and the guy next to me is Uchiha Obito." Naruto's eyes widened, as well as kyuubi's and Dark Naruto's. 'Uchiha?' thought every occupant inside the room.

The female, now named Mikoto, laughed inside her head. "Mind telling me why you're so surprise?"

Naruto came back to reality after that. "Maybe it's because you're suppose to be dead."

"Dead?" said Obito. "Who the hell told you we were dead?"

"Oh, I don't know," said Naruto with sarcasm, "maybe because of a little incident known as The Uchiha Massacre."

"Oh that," said Mikoto like it was nothing, "we will explain everything once we don't have unnecessary ears listening." Mikoto shot the kumo shinobi a stare that said she was talking about them.

Yugito scowled. "You come into our country uninvited and you're wondering why were here."

"This doesn't concern you," said Mikoto, her voice becoming hard.

"The moment you stepped into our country, it became our concern," retorted Yugito.

_**"This is getting good!"**_ said Dark Naruto as he watched everything intently from Naruto's mind. Kyuubi said nothing.

"Yugito, calm down," said Bee as he placed a hand on her shoulder to ease her anger. It helped. A little. Right now, all Yugito wanted was to beat the other female into the ground. The only thing keeping her from doing that was the little rational part in her mind telling her to control her emotions.

Obito was just watching everything with a smirk on his face. Now this was interesting. A cat fight! I seems as if he thinks just like Dark Naruto.

"You still haven't told why you're here," interrupted Naruto.

"I told…" began Mikoto, only for Naruto to interrupt her, "I heard you. But if you don't want them to hear, why don't you kick them out."

Mikoto and Obito both raised their eyebrows, while the kumo shinobi's eyes widened.

"You know," began Mikoto with a deadly voice, "if you were anyone else you would be dead right now." Naruto said nothing. "But you do have a point." She turned towards the kumo shinobi. "You are a hindrance." She took out her sword. Obito did nothing. 'If she wants to listen to him, then fine. But nobody orders me around.'

Yugito, Bee, and the rest took a fighting stance.'This isn't good,' thought Yugito, 'we're outmatch.'

Suddenly, Naruto appeared behind Mikoto, holding her sword down. The others were wondering what was going on.

"What are you doing?" demanded Mikoto.

"Why did you listen to me?" asked Naruto.

"Listen to you?" repeated Mikoto. Then, she started laughing. After she stopped, she turned to face him. "What makes you think you could order me around?" whispered Mikoto into his ear. Naruto just stared at her.

"You were doing it because you wanted to," stated Naruto.

"Exactly."

Naruto let her go and turned towards the kumo shinobi. "You can leave. You have my word that they won't cause problems." Mikoto and Obito raised their eyebrows again. Yugito just stared at him. "And why should we listen to you?"

Naruto shrugged. "Because you don't have a choice."

Yugito knew he was right, but didn't want to back down, her pride getting the best of her.

"It would be best if you come back to kumo with us," said Bee.

"And why should we do that?" asked Mikoto.

"Done." said Naruto. Mikoto looked at him, but he ignored her. "If you give us time to talk alone, we'll go with you. And we won't try to escape." He looked at Mikoto, telling her that she didn't have a choice. She just looked somewhere else.

"Fine," said Yugito. "We'll be waiting outside." With that, she and the rest of the kumo shinobi left the room.

When they were gone, Naruto turned to the other two. "Now, mind telling me why you're here?" Obito looked at Mikoto, telling her that she had to explain.

Mikoto sighed, and turned to look at him. "I don't know if you know, but your mother was Uzumaki Kushina, one of the best kunoichi in history, and my best friend." Naruto remained silent, but listened intently. "We became friends in the academy after we had a practice spar. We were always together, telling each other everything. Even during the war, it was fun. We were both rivals, always trying to outdo each other. And because of that we became strong enough that we became popular, both on the battlefield and socially. Before I knew it, I was chosen to marry Fugaku, the next clan head." Mikoto looked disgusted at the idea. "I didn't get much say in the matter, and I was made a housewife. I never did love him, but I was happy since he gave me Itachi, and later Sasuke." Naruto's eyes widened at that information. Mikoto, seeing his look, sighed. "Yes, I'm Itachi and Sasuke's mother. But that's not the point. Anyway, Kushina was more lucky. She managed to marry someone who she actually loved. You could say I was jealous of her. I did, however, had Itachi, so it wasn't so bad. After the war ended, I was pregnant again. But this time, Kushina was as well. She was happy, seeing that she was going to be a mother. But then a disaster happen." Mikoto's face turned sad. "The kyuubi attack. I don't know the details, but both she and your father died, the Yondaime Hokage." Mikoto looked at him, expecting him to be surprise, but instead he didn't do anything. She decided to ask him later. "After that, the Sandaime told the village you were the new jinchuriki. Because of that everyone knew what you carried inside of you, and well you can realize how ignorant people can be since they thought that you were the kyuubi itself. How foolish. But I'm getting off topic. It didn't take long for me to realize that you were Kushina's son, considering the fact that you look just like your father. You might not know this, but I helped you anyway I could. I gave you money through the Sandaime, I guarded you from afar, I sent you food. I wasn't able to do much because of my clan. After that the Uchiha Massacre happened, and I won't tell you how I survive, not now at least. I hid myself and trained to make myself stronger, and then I met Obito and I teamed up with him, but that's another story. After that I kept tabs on you, making sure you were alright. You weren't the only one, but again, that's for another time. I always wanted to get you out of that village for reasons I'll tell you later. When you ditched Jiraiya, that gave me the perfect opportunity, but you gave us quite the chase. We managed to track you down here, and we saw your fight. After that you passed out, and we brought you here. Kumo decided to get involve, though, something I hadn't thought about."

After she finished, Naruto took all of this in. Now he realized that she was the one that he always sensed that was watching him when he was younger. It all made sense. Add to the fact that she was Sasuke's mom. What would he do when he found out that she was alive, he wondered. And did she want to find him? He decided he would ask her later. "You should know," began Naruto, "that I don't have good intentions towards Konoha." Mikoto looked at him curiously, even Obito looked interested. "I just learned some things that would make anyone angry. I wonder, though, what are your intentions towards the village?"

"Hostile." answered Mikoto instantly. "Our clan was betrayed by Konoha." Naruto narrowed his eyes at that. How funny that a village who promoted loyalty and teamwork would instantly betray her allies. But this was good news for him, though. "I see," said Naruto. "My reasons are the same." Both Uchihas' eyes widened. "I will tell you the details later, but I do have one question."

He faced both of them. "Will you join me and have us take our vengeance to the village that took our families from us?" He extended his arm towards Mikoto. She looked at him, then at Obito. He nodded his head slightly, telling Mikoto that he agreed. She smiled, then faced Naruto. She took his arm with hers.

"We accept."

* * *

><p>The sky was dark. Rain fell. One person watched this from a platform of a huge tower. When, he wondered, would there be no more suffering in this world.<p>

"Pain," said a soft, gentle female voice from inside the tower. "The 4 tails has been captured."

'Yes,' he thought, 'one more step towards peace.'

The Akatsuki had recently started to move in the hunt for the jinchuriki. The 5 tails was the first captured, then the 6 tails, and now the 4 tails. Three tailed beasts in their possession in just a matter of months. Iwa had been the most affected, losing both of their jinchuriki.

'But that old fool doesn't care about them,' thought Pain, 'all he cares about is himself.' "Good job, Konan. You may leave." Konan bowed, and disappeared back inside the tower.

Pain watched the rain fall once again. Peace would soon fall the world. He would make it happen and anyone who stood in his way would be destroy. It was his dream. And most of all, it was the dream of his best friend who died while trying to achieve it. Then the rain would stop falling in his homeland. For now though, the rain continued to fall.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo!<strong>

**Sorry for the late update, but I've been extremely busy with school lately since christmas is over. I've been doing homework that I do not understand especially with one class-Math. Can you believe that? Math! Either I'm becoming stupid, or my teacher can't teach shit. Personally, I think it't the latter. Not only that, but I'm starting to read poetry in my english class, something I do not get, since I do not like poetry, but it's not as bad as math, though. It's funny since I'm reading Romeo and Juliet, and, well it's better if you don't know what's so funny about it. And thanks to that, I don't have that much free time anymore. So, you can see why.**

**But enough about my problems. There is something I want to address-the fight scene between the dragon, whose name I've still have not decided, and Naruto. In my opinion, it sucked. Bad. I'm pretty sure you all agree with me, and if anyone liked it, which I doubt, then…well there is nothing I can say. When I imagined that fight in my head, it was way better than that. I just couldn't express my idea into words. I know for a fact that there are a bunch of better authors then me out there, and I accept that because I know that I'm not the best. I'm just doing this for fun, no other reason. So if any of you decide to stop reading this story because of that, I'll understand, and if you will continue to read it, that's great also.**

**So, I guess that's all I wanted to say. What do you think? Do you like that Mikoto is in, or not? Personally, I think she is one of the best female characters in Naruto, even though she didn't appear that much. Hope you review, and I still have not post that poll yet. I'll either do it today or tomorrow, or I'll get lazy and don't since I have two extra days for my weekend for some holiday that I already forgot. I'm just glad I won't hear any math for two extra days, or poetry. But frankly, I'm more glad about the math than the poetry. Anyways, please review.**

**Over & Out. **


	9. Brothers from another Mother

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
><strong>**"Hmm…"-** Tailed beast or summoning  
><em><strong>"Hmm…"-<strong>_ Dark Naruto

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Brothers from another mother<strong>

"I want you to join me."

"And why should I? I'm grateful that you freed me, but that doesn't mean I'll listen to you."

"Huh…" Sasuke merely looked at Suigetsu with an emotionless gaze. After absorbing Orochimaru, he came to recruit the first person of the team he was hoping to build, effectively marking the first phase of his plan into action. But it would seem that it wouldn't be as easy as he first thought. Not that he thought persuading Suigetsu was going to be easy considering the fact that he was one of the most arrogant people he met, including himself. He knew that he was too arrogant at moments, which wasn't a good thing. But that didn't matter at the moment. He just wanted to start searching for Itachi as soon as possible. But first he would need people to have his back in case he ran into any other Akatsuki members.

"Hahahaha! You're too serious for your own good. All right, I'll join you…for now."

"Whatever…" Sasuke merely turned towards the exit. "Get dress. We have a long journey." The next thing he felt was a finger pointed at his head, said finger belonging to Suigetsu who was right behind him.

"Tch. Such a bossy tone. Now, lets get something straight, shall we? You might have defeated Orochimaru, but that doesn't mean shit. Everyone was after his head, meaning someone was bound to get him sooner or later. You were just the most likely considering the fact that you were always by his side, while the rest of us were kept in cages. So don't get cocky, or you'll regret it."

Sasuke just looked at Suigetsu in the eye, no fear in his eyes. After a few more seconds of this, Suigetsu started to chuckle and released his hand from its position, backing away. "Whoah. No fear, nothing. Which means your win wasn't a fluke. Good to know. Now, if I am to join you, there is something I'm gonna need."

Sasuke said nothing. Instead, he just walked towards the exit of the laboratory, Suigetsu following him.

* * *

><p>"I hate this…"<p>

"Your not the only one."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Oh, I think you know what it means, little kitten."

"Who are you calling little, you old hag!"

"Old hag! Why you…!"

_**"Damn. They seriously have issues."**_

**"I know."**

'They're starting to get annoying.'

_**"It's starting to annoy me too! I mean, where's the traditional cat fight? You know, with the hair pulling and clothes ripping while men stand to watch while throwing money in the fight! Those were the days, all right…"**_

**"You're starting to get annoying as well."**

_**"Fuck you, Kyuubi!"**_

'I agree with him.'

_**"What the fuck have I done?"**_

**"You've become more…vocal towards the opposite sex."**

_**"Can you blame me? If I could, I would be doing those two at this very moment till they scream my name out to the moon! Oh yeah, that would be nice…"**_

Naruto just mentally shook his head at his other self. Not that he disagreed with him, because, if he was honest with himself, he would do the same thing. But it also brought one thing in perspective-it was Sasuke's mom! His old teammate, his old rival. It was weird but appealing at the same time. Appealing because she was hot, and the look on Sasuke's face if he ever found out that he banged his mom would be priceless.

'Now that's a nice thought,' he thought to himself.

_**"I agree with you completely."**_

"Those bitches are starting to get on my nerves," muttered Obito.

Naruto glanced at him. "Same here."

"Why did you have to agree with the Raikage in the first place? Hell, why did we even meet him?" complained Obito.

It had been a couple of hours after their meeting with the raikage. It had been a good opportunity in Naruto's mind. After explaining everything and that he wasn't going to attack kumo, kyuubi came with an idea. An idea that Naruto liked very much. Basically, he was proposing an alliance between him and kumo. A didn't like the sound of that, and it took a lot of charm to finally get him to agree. As long as Yugito was with them, of course.

'A small price to pay,' thought Naruto to himself. Indeed it was. Now he had a village on his side, a powerful new team, and a new summoning contract.

'Which reminds me, I still have to talk to the dragons about our arrangement.' He wasn't to worry about that. He knew that dragons appreciated strength, so as long as he had that, he would have their allegiance.

"We now have kumo on our side, for now at least. It's going to be helpful in the future. Besides, Yugito is gonna be useful as well," Naruto answered him.

Obito just sighed, but said nothing else.

Naruto looked at him with curiosity. "How did you and Mikoto even meet?"

Obito looked at the road ahead of him. "It was shortly after the Uchiha Massacre. She went to the one of the secret Uchiha compounds that are scattered all over the Elemental Nations from the Clan Wars era. I used as well, so it was only a matter of time before we ran into one another. You see, I too was training at the time, and healing of an incident I had, which thankfully I have. Of course she attacked me instantly, not that I blame her. After what she had just went through, she didn't trust anybody, again not that I blame her. After she calmed down, I told her who I was, as well as my story. We already knew each other because she use to take care of me when I was a kid. She thought I was dead, which is what everyone thinks. I still don't know you enough to tell you all the details as to why, but after that she told me what had happened in konoha, and we decided to stick together and get revenge together."

Naruto nodded, satisfied.

_**"Hmm..."**_

'What is it?'

_**"I wonder how old she is. She doesn't look old, but if she was old enough to take care of this guy..."**_

'Why does that even matter?'

_**"Just curious. Not that I mind banging older women, especially if they look like she does..."**_

Naruto decided not to listen to the rest.

"Mind telling me where we're heading?" asked Yugito after she finally stopped arguing with Mikoto.

"I would like to know as well," said Mikoto.

"I'm still not done with my training," said Naruto.

"Training?" repeated Obito. "Brat, I don't think you need anymore training."

"I'm still not strong enough to destroy konoha yet."

**'I wonder if you'll be satisfied with my power,'** thought kyuubi to himself.

Mikoto grinned. "I have an idea that you might like," she said.

Naruto stopped walking and turned towards her. "And that might be?"

Again, she grinned.

* * *

><p>"Orochimaru is dead."<p>

The response was instantaneous. Itachi looked uninterested, Kisame grinned, Deidara's eyes hardened, Sasori had no reaction, Hidan grinned more darkly than Kisame, Zetsu already knew since he was the one who told Pain in the first place, Konan already knew as well, and Kakuzu didn't give a shit.

"Mind telling us who had the honor of killing that snake?" asked Kisame.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

'Sasuke?' thought Itachi. 'Well little brother, you have grown stronger, as it would seem.'

"Ho!" Kisame whistled. "Itachi's little brother, huh? It seems the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"Uchiha Sasuke!" screamed Deidara. "That little runt! I wanted to kill that bastard! He's gonna pay!"

"It doesn't matter," interrupted Sasori. "Not to us at least. His target must be Itachi, am I correct?" Itachi glanced at him for a second.

"That is correct," said Pain. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be on your guard. There's a chance that he might come after one of you for information about Itachi."

"Heh. Let that little runt come! He would make a good sacrifice!" said Hidan.

Pain looked at Sasori and Deidara. "The one tail is the next target. How far are you from his position?"

"We should be there in a day, maybe two if a sandstorm were to hit," answered Sasori.

"Good. Make sure to hurry. Failure is not an option. And this goes to all of you-keep Uchiha Sasuke on your mind. This meeting is over."

* * *

><p>Itachi opened his eyes to see the clear blue sky.<p>

"What of the nine tails?" asked Kisame. "I already caught my target, but you haven't."

"The nine tails will be caught last, remember?" said Itachi in a monotone voice. "Right now we just have to catch the other tailed beasts. Besides, we don't even know where he is. C'mon, lets go." Itachi stood up and started to walk to a nearby village to rest.

Kisame followed, while thinking, 'I wonder what goes around in that head of yours, Itachi.'

* * *

><p>"Sasuke will be fighting Itachi real soon..."<p>

"Do you want us to stop him?"

"No. I have plans for the boy. Just concentrate on hunting the remaining tailed beasts."

"Understood, Madara."

Madara, or 'Tobi', nodded. "Good. Soon the world will know the wrath of the Uchiha!" With that he disappeared with his teleportation jutsu.

The thing he didn't know was that he was right. The world would know the wrath of the Uchiha, but it would not be delivered by him, but by another Uchiha.

* * *

><p>"So, is he gonna return to the village?" asked a hopeful Sakura.<p>

"I'm afraid not," answered Tsunade.

Right now in the hokage's office, the rookie 12, or 10, as well as their senseis were just learning of the latest news about Sasuke killing Orochimaru.

"Oh," said a disappointed Sakura.

'Sakura,' thought Ino sadly. Truth was, she also was sad about what she just learned, but not as much.

"Sasuke is obsessed with revenge," said Jiraiya. "From what I have learn, he's forming a team to help him hunt down Itachi."

"Seems reasonable," muttered Kakashi.

"What about Naruto?" asked Kiba. "Any news on him?" Sakura flinched when she was reminded that her other teammate had also left the village.

"I'm afraid not," said Jiraiya. He still hadn't found anything that would lead to Naruto, which infuriated him. 'Minato, I swear I'll find your son and bring him back. Even if it's the last thing I do.'

The rest of the rookies were disappointed at not having any news about their friend.

"Right now though, there are more things to worry about," said Tsunade as she re-started the conversation.

"You want us to find Itachi, don't you?" guessed Shikamaru.

"You're right. If we capture him, Sasuke will no doubt come here, making it easier for us to capture him."

"Capturing Itachi will not be easy though," said Kakashi. He knew he was strong, but compared to someone like Itachi, he knew he didn't have a chance. Though, with Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai, there was a chance.

"Not to mention his partner as well," said Asuma. Another problem. Kakashi knew the rookies wouldn't stand a chance against the strongest Swordsman of the mist.

"I know," said Tsunade with a sigh. "But I'm confident you'll find a way."

"I would join you, but I have my spy network to deal with about finding Naruto," said Jiraiya.

"I wish you all good luck. Dismissed."

The rookies along with their senseis left, intend on succeeding in their mission.

Once they left, Tsunade turned towards Jiraiya. "Are you sure that you're all right?"

"Are you alright?" he asked back.

Tsunade sighed. "You got me there. I wonder what the brat is up to, though. I hope he's alright..."

Jiraiya put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. The brat's fine. If anything had happened to him, my network would have known by now. He's out there, somewhere."

"But where?" said Tsunade in desperation.

Jiraiya smirked. "If I knew that, I wouldn't be here, now would I?"

Tsunade chuckled. "I guess you're right."

"I'll be on my way then..." Jiraiya made for the window, but before he could leave, Tsunade took his hand into hers.

"Please find him."

"I will."

"And Jiraiya..."

"Yes?"

"Please be careful..."

* * *

><p>Sakura returned home to pack for her next mission. She got herself a small apartment in the suburbs of the village after deciding that she could live alone. Her parents weren't excited about the idea, but in the end they agreed.<p>

As she packed, the picture next to her bed caught her attention. It was herself, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi a day after Kakashi had passed them. Those were happy days, she reasoned. Back when the world seem to be a better place, before she knew of the world of shinobi, before both of her teammates had abandoned the village for their own reasons.

'How I wish things would go back to the way it was before...' The chunnin exams. That's when things went down the drain. The meeting with Orochimaru, Sasuke getting the curse mark which later resulted in him leaving the village. Then Naruto left while in the middle of his training trip, for reasons she could not understand.

'I will make things go back to how they were. I made a promise to Naruto that I would not slow him down. I intend to keep it.'

How foolish...

* * *

><p>"You sure about this?" asked Obito.<p>

"I'm positive," answered Mikoto.

"Are you even sure the procedure is going to work?" questioned Obito.

"The kyuubi will no doubt heal him of anything considering that he is happy where he is at the moment," said Mikoto.

"But the Uchiha..."

"Forget that! Right now, the Uchiha clan is in the brink on extinction! We owe no allegiance to konoha or any other village. All that matters is our revenge, making sure that it succeeds no matter what. After that, I'll be at peace."

"I hope you know what you're doing," muttered Obito.

"I know what I'm doing. But there is something else that I need to take care of first, though."

"Which is?"

"Why, a reunion between me and my youngest son, of course."

* * *

><p>"Uchiha Sasuke...I'm going to bomb that son of a bitch till his body is all but bits of pieces in the ground beneath my feet!"<p>

"Calm down, Deidara," said Sasori in a calm voice.

The two lovers of art made their way to suna, which was where the one tail, their target, was located.

"No!" screamed Deidara. "He stole my chance to kill Orochimaru! I will never forgive him for that!"

"You think I don't feel the same way," said Sasori with annoyance in his voice. "He was my partner before you, you know. He betrayed me, something I don't take well to."

"Doesn't matter!" said Deidara. "I was the one who was going to kill him! But now, it looks like I'm going to have to kill the Uchiha instead..."

"Don't," said Sasori, "Itachi would kill you. And you know you don't stand a chance against him. Remember the last time you faced him."

Deidara's anger rose at remembering that day when he was recruited into Akatsuki. The day he was defeated easily, the day he almost appreciated Itachi's eyes as art.

'They'll never be art,' he thought, 'only my creations can ever be true art! And soon I'll show him...'

* * *

><p>"We'll need to split up," said Sasuke.<p>

"I'm good with that," said Suigetsu. With that, he disappeared to the nearest town. Juugo also left, using the animals in the area to help him.

'Now's my chance,' thought Karin. "Oh Sasuke," she said in a sultry voice.

"You should get going as well," said Sasuke without turning around.

"Tch, fine!" said an irritated Karin.

After she left, he threw a couple of kunais to nearby tree branch. "I know you're there. Show yourself."

"Your good," said a female voice.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

"Why, Sasuke, to think you wouldn't recognize your own mother! I must admit, I am hurt."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "M-mom…?"

* * *

><p>"I got Sasuke's scent!" screamed Kiba as the konoha shinobi made their way through the forest.<p>

'Sasuke-kun,' thought Sakura.

"Where to Kiba?" asked Kakashi.

"About 15 miles from here. There seems to be another person with him. I don't recognize the scent though," answered Kiba.

"All right. We need to hurry!" said Kakashi.

* * *

><p>"That's right," said Mikoto.<p>

"But how? I thought you were dead?" said a shock Sasuke.

"You shouldn't believe everything you see, Sasuke-chan."

"Genjutsu…" muttered Sasuke.

"Exactly. I'm going to tell you everything of what happened that night, as well as other things, but not here. Come with me, and your team as well."

Sasuke nodded without hesitation, wanting to know everything.

* * *

><p>"The scent is gone!" screamed Kiba.<p>

"What do you mean going?" asked Neji.

"Just that! One second it's there, the next it vanished! The other scent vanished as well."

'No!' screamed Sakura in her head.

"While that is unfortunate, our mission is still to capture Itachi. Lets go!" said Kakashi. The rest nodded.

* * *

><p><em><strong>"I wonder what the Uchiha is planning."<strong>_

'Me too.'

**"We shouldn't trust her."**

'Why?'

**"I have my reasons."**

Naruto was about to ask him when he felt her presence.

"She's here," said Obito.

"Finally," muttered Yugito.

"About time you got back," said Naruto. "Now mind telling me…"

"Naruto?" said Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" said Naruto.

"What the hell are you doing here?" they both said at the same time.

"It seems you two know each other," said Mikoto.

"You could say that," said Naruto.

"How do you know Naruto?" asked Sasuke to his mother.

"We met about a day ago, under entertaining circumstances."

'Entertaining?' thought Naruto.

_**"She has a weird definition for 'entertaining'. I'm starting to like her more and more!"**_

**"Why me..."**

_**"Don't be hating the evil entity with a cool outlook on life, will you?"**_

**"I wonder if dying will be worst than this..."**

"Who are they?" asked Yugito, pointing at team hebi.

"My team," answered Sasuke.

"Mind telling what's going on?" asked Naruto.

"It's really simple. We're going to join forces."

Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes widened. "What are you talking about!" said Sasuke.

"I would like to know as well," said Naruto.

Mikoto chuckled. "Our goals are the same. The destruction of konoha."

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't care about konoha. My goal is to kill Itachi."

Mikoto sighed sadly. "You're wrong, my son. Itachi is but a victim."

"VICTIM!" screamed Sasuke in outrage. "He destroyed the Uchiha clan...!"

"Under konoha's instructions," interrupted Mikoto. Everyone in the room was shocked at what they had just heard, except for Obito, who already knew.

"What are you talking about?" whispered Sasuke.

Mikoto shook her head. "I will explain everything to you and Naruto later. Right now there is something we need to do."

"Which is?" asked Naruto.

Mikoto smirked. "Giving you the sharingan."

* * *

><p><strong>How is it going people! Hope you've been doing fine!<strong>

**I know a lot of you are pissed for me not updating quickly, but you have to understand that my life is busy right now. Not just school, which thankfully has gotten easier, but a lot of personal things as well, which I rather not say. Hopefully though, I'll have enough time to keep updating as quickly as possible. And for those that don't know yet-the poll is up! I added Kushina in today, and trust me I know how she'll come into the story perfectly. But most of you we'll probably want a harem…perverts….Just kidding. I'm a fan of harem stories as well. That's about it.**

**Till next time. Over and out.**


	10. New Gifts and A Revelation

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto….I'm getting tired of writing that….  
><strong>"Hmm..."- <strong>Kyuubi or Summoning speaking  
><strong><em>"Hmm..."-<em>**Dark Naruto**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: New Gifts and a Revelation<strong>

"How is this possible…?" said Obito in awe.

"I don't know…." muttered Mikoto, also in shock. For once in her life, Uchiha Mikoto was truly amazed.

You see, the operation of transferring the sharingan eyes to Naruto was just finished. Everything went perfect, well a little too perfect. A few minutes after the operation, Naruto's new sharingan eyes started to change. Is the change good? Well….that's a matter of perspective.

"What?" asked Naruto, who was on the operation table. "Did something bad happen?"

"Not really," said Mikoto. She wasn't mad with this outcome. No, what she was mad, almost pissed, was that she wasn't expecting it. She hated when something unexpected happened. Well, in situations like this. In a romantic sense, well that's a different story. Back with the story….

"The Rinnegan…" said Obito.

"The what?" asked Naruto.

"The rinnegan," repeated Mikoto, "is the third dojutsu in the ninja world. The last known person to have it was the Sage of Six Paths." Mikoto didn't know that Pain was also a wielder because she wasn't all that concerned about the akatsuki. She did know, however, that the rinnegan was the last phase of the sharingan. But in order for that to happen…

'Of course!' thought Mikoto. 'How could I have missed this! He's an uzumaki, who are related to the senju, and add kyuubi to the mix…" There was no doubt in her mind that the kyuubi had something to do with this. But for what purpose? 'What could he be planning?' asked Mikoto to herself. Well she would worry about that later.

'The rinnegan, huh?' thought Naruto. 'Good. Once I've mastered it I should be ready…' He wasn't counting kyuubi's power because he didn't want to rely in it, nor did he think that the kyuubi would be willing to give it to him. How wrong he was.

**"After you're finished here, we need to talk."**

'About what?' asked Naruto.

**"You'll see." **Kyuubi went silent after that. Naruto decided not to ask anything else. Kyuubi sounded serious.

"Alright then," said Naruto as he hopped out of the operation table, "I think we're finished here."

"I would suggest that you wait a little before you start training," said Mikoto, already guessing what he was going to do.

"Why not?" asked Naruto.

"You'll have to let you're body become accustomed to your new eyes," she answered.

He nodded. "Alright, then. One question-how do you turned them off?"

"Just stop channeling your chakra to your eyes." Once he did, his eyes went back to his natural blue eyes. Mikoto also wondered about that. She thought they would have changed color, but it appeared not.

"I'm gonna go rest then." Naruto left the room to find an unoccupied bedroom in the Uchiha hideout.

"Well that was unexpected," commented Obito all of a sudden.

Mikoto just rolled her eyes. It wasn't unexpected really. Well to them it was, but in all logical sense, it was the expected outcome. "Whatever. Now if you excuse me, I have something to do." She started to walk out of the room when Obito spoke again. "You're gonna tell him about that night, aren't you?"

Mikoto stopped walking, but didn't turn around. "Yes. He deserves to know."

Obito sighed. "Well, it's your choice." Mikoto walked without saying another word.

* * *

><p>"Everyone stop!" screamed Kakashi. The retrieval team, well this retrieval team, consisting of Kakashi, Pakkun, Sakura, and Shino stopped in the middle of a road in The Land of Fire. After losing Sasuke's scent as well as the other scent of the mysterious…umm entity… it was decided that it was best to split into groups to find Itachi faster. And luck would have it, this team just happened to do it.<p>

Uchiha Itachi, and Hoshigaki Kisame stopped walking and turned to find the four konoha shinobi. "Well," said Kisame with a grin, "this is our lucky day." Itachi as usual, said nothing. Kakashi made a silent order to Pakkun, who understood and left to inform the others.

Sakura looked at Itachi. 'So this is him,' she thought, 'the one who made Sasuke-kun's life a living hell.' She clenched her fists.

"Kakashi," said Itachi in his usual monotone voice, "we meet again."

"Yes we do," replied Kakashi.

"May I ask what I owe this unexpected visit?" said Itachi, with the least amount of sarcasm. Itachi already had a feeling as to what they wanted.

"Uchiha Itachi, you are hereby under arrest! Surrender, or we will use force." Kakashi said, feeling stupid. Of course he knew Itachi would never surrender when he could beat all of them, but hey, it was protocol.

Itachi and Kisame raised an eyebrow and looked at each other. Then they turned back to the group. "Did you really think I would surrender?" asked Itachi, a little amused, even though he didn't show it. Kisame didn't have that much control, so it wasn't a surprise to see him chuckling.

Kakashi sighed. "No I didn't," he answered honestly, reaching towards his headband. Sakura and Shino also got ready for battle.

Kisame chuckled a little more loud while reaching to unstrap Samehada from his back. "Konoha shinobi are amusing," he said. Itachi didn't pay attention to that comment. He just activated his sharingan. Kakashi, already knowing what was going to happened, warned the other 2. "Don't look at him in his eyes!" he shouted. But it was too late. Both Sakura and Shino fell to the ground unconscious.

Kakashi didn't have time to check on them, however, as he was forced to block a strike from Kisame as he brought Samehada down on him. "You don't have time to look away!" he said.

Kakashi just cursed in his mind. 'This is bad. The others better get here soon, or I'm dead.'

* * *

><p>"Tsunade-sama!" screamed Shizune as she entered her office.<p>

"What is it?" asked Tsunade.

"The Kazekage has been captured by the akatsuki!" she screamed.

"WHAT!" shouted Tsunade as she stood up from her chair. Shizune just nodded. Tsunade cursed in her mind as she sat back in her chair. 'This is not good news. Damn akatsuki…'

"What are we going to do, Tsunade-sama?" asked Shizune.

'I can't send Kakashi since he's not here…in that case….' "Shizune, bring these four to me!"

* * *

><p>Sasuke stood outside the hideout while staring out at nothing. No one can blame him. He just found out that his mother, who he thought died 7 years ago, was alive! Not to mention the fact that it seems konoha was responsible for the destruction of his clan. He didn't know all the details, as his mother had yet to tell him anything else.<p>

"So this is where you are," said a voice behind him. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"Mom," started Sasuke with an emotionless voice, "I need to know what happened."

Mikoto nodded. This is why she was here, to tell him everything. "Alright, but you need to know that the Uchiha clan isn't a saint in this either."

Sasuke turned around, silently telling her to continue.

Mikoto took a big breath and continued, "It all started when the Uchiha clan was force to move to a secluded area in the village. Of course no one thought anything of it, but this was for the hokage to keep tabs on the clan. It wasn't long before the clan started to lose more political power, even though we were the police enforcers, something the Nidaime hokage made to give the clan something. Anyway, it wasn't long before we barely had any power at all. Your father knew this, and was infuriated. With Itachi, the clan became more…prestige as to say, with him being anbu captain at fourteen. But Fugaku saw this as a chance more 'beneficial' to the clan." Mikoto said beneficial with a great amount of sarcasm. "Of course at the time I too thought it would be the best course of action. With Itachi as the head of anbu, we could keep tabs on the village. Of course with the kyuubi attack, the village leaders became more suspicious of us."

At Sasuke's questioning look, she decided to elaborate. "The kyuubi attack was unexpected. It just happened. The kyuubi was not known to just destroy a village without a reason. It was known however that the sharingan can control the kyuubi, well the mangekyo. The village leaders thought the uchiha clan was responsible, so they made Itachi spy on us."

"And Itachi just went with it!" screamed Sasuke, losing his composure.

Mikoto sighed. "Sasuke, you have to know for a fact that your older brother loved the village a lot, maybe he still does. He grew up during the 3rd Ninja war, well in the final years, but he still saw a lot of things not meant to be seem by a child. He became a pacifist. Anyway, after that, Fugaku grew more and more impatient with the situation that he decided to form a rebellion. Itachi reported this to the hokage and the elders. Of course, the sandaime thought that a peaceful resolution was the best course of action. _Danzo_," Mikoto said the name with disgust, "came up with a _better _plan. He decided that wiping out the clan was the best course of action."

Sasuke was shaking with anger by this point. "And Itachi agreed with him?" he asked with anger.

Mikoto sighed again. "As I said, Itachi is a pacifist. He knew if the uchiha clan had the chance of going through with the rebellion, a lot of innocent people would die. The other nations would probably take this opportunity to gain more territory, probably causing the 4th Ninja war, making even more people die. Of course Danzo also used Itachi's love for you to finally convince him." Mikoto stopped at this to look at her youngest son.

Sasuke's anger disappeared, replaced with confusion. "W-what are you saying?"

Mikoto smiled sadly. "What I'm saying is that Itachi really cares for you. There's no doubt in my mind that he still does. Danzo offered him the choice of wiping out the clan but sparing you, or him taking side with the uchiha clan where we would all die, including you."

Sasuke could not believe what he was hearing. Itachi cared for him all along. There was always this doubt in the back of his mind that there had to be another explanation as to why Itachi did what he did. And finally it was all making sense.

Mikoto continued. "After he made his choice, Itachi headed for the compound, and the night we're so familiar with happened."

* * *

><p>'I hate the sand,' thought Sasori as he and his 'teammate' made their way towards the nearest akatsuki base so that they could seal the one tail. Speaking of that, Sabaku no Gaara was being transported by the clay bird made by Deidara unconscious. He was barely alive, but this was the best he could hope for. He knew capturing an enemy alive was harder than killing him or her, so he couldn't blame Deidara for that. What he was pissed about was the fact that thanks to Deidara's 'art', nothing could be done secretly. They had already encounter the target's older brother, in which he fought him.<p>

He won of course. The puppet user was using puppets he was so familiar with. He created them after all. In all honesty, he was impressed with the puppeteer's skill. If he hadn't created them, he was sure he would have had a tougher fight. In all reality, it wasn't a fair fight. But hey, in the ninja world, nothing was fair. You use everything to your advantage.

But enough about that. There was no doubt in Sasori's mind that there would be more encounters with enemy shinobi. When, he didn't know, but he knew they would be happening. Sasori was the kind of man, in figurative manner since his body was a puppet, that didn't like to fight unless he had to. The only reason he joined akatsuki was for the protection it provided him. But in order to gain something, you have to give something up.

Another issue he had was his 'partner.' Why the leader decided to pair them together was beyond Sasori's comprehension. They were both opposites. Deidara liked to do things the flashy way, as to say that he knew nothing about stealth. He would have rather being paired with Itachi. He was alright in Sasori's book, besides murdering his entire clan. But hey, he turned people into puppets, hell he even made himself into a puppet, so who was he to judge somebody else.

'Finally I'm getting out of the sand.' With that, he made his way toward his objective, Deidara following him.

* * *

><p><strong>"Water Style: Water Bullet!"<strong>

**"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"**

Both techniques clashed, the mud wall coming victorious.

Kisame smirked, before dashing forward at incredible speed at Kakashi, who barely managed to dodge the giant sword, or so he thought.

Kakashi gritted his teeth, feeling the loss of his chakra. Kisame chuckled, while holding Samehada, which has making weird sounds. "Samehada's specialty is the fact that it can absorb chakra. It's almost impossible to dodge."

Kakashi was getting more worried as the fight continued. He was losing too much chakra. Add to the fact that Itachi hadn't done anything except to trap Shino and Sakura in a genjutsu, knocking them unconscious. Even Sakura couldn't dispel genjutsu at that caliber.

'Where is everyone else?' thought Kakashi worriedly.

He lost his train go thought as he was forced to dodge another strike from Kisame, who was getting bored. "Don't be spacing out on me!" He screamed as he went in with another barrage of strikes as Kakashi evaded them or blocked them with a kunai. Kisame went in with a low kick as it made a direct hit on Kakashi who was pushed back and got the wind knocked out of him at the sheer force of it. Kisame did another set of seals.

**"Water Style: Water Shark Bullet!" **Kakashi jumped out of the way of the jutsu, before doing the exact same seals.

**"Water Style: Water Shark Bullet!" **Kisame merely smirked before he too jumped out of the way.

"Heh. Still copying jutsus I see. Well I shouldn't be surprise considering the fact that your known as 'Copy Cat Kakashi,'" said Kisame.

"Kisame," said Itachi. Kisame looked back at him. "What?"

"We don't have time for this," said Itachi. Kisame merely grunted as he was just getting started. Before he could say anything, he was alerted at the sound of movement. He was proven to be right as the rest of the retrieval team landed. Kakashi merely sighed in relief.

"Oh, more company," said Kisame with a grin.

"Kakashi, you ok?" asked Asuma, while Ino and Kurenai went to check on Sakura and Shino.

"Yea, I'm almost out of chakra though," replied Kakashi.

"WE'LL HANDLE THIS!" said, well screamed, Guy.

Kisame narrowed his eyes when he saw him. "It would seem I've been given the opportunity to pay you back," said Kisame with a feral grin while pointing Samehada at him.

Guy looked uncertain. "Umm…do I know you?" Everyone except for Itachi and Kisame sweatdropped.

Kisame was about to retort when he was interrupted yet again. **"Itachi, Kisame, you are hereby order to retreat." **The voice of Pain said.

Itachi didn't say anything, but Kisame was pissed. "Why?" **"Deidara, and Sasori are almost at the designated location. We need to start the sealing of the one tails immediately." **All of the older jounin paled at the implication-the kazekage was captured.

"Tch…" was all that Kisame said as he placed Samehada in his back. He turned toward the konoha shinobi. "You got lucky this time but next time we meet I will kill you." With that he disappeared, along with Itachi.

"Kakashi-sensei, what do we do?" asked Kiba. Before he could answer a hawk soaring towards them drew their attention.

* * *

><p>"And that's how it is," said Mikoto.<p>

Sasuke didn't say anything. He just looked at the ground.

Mikoto merely stared at him, with no emotions in her face. " Do you hate him?" asked Sasuke. Mikoto raised an eyebrow, so Sasuke elaborated. "Do you hate Itachi?" Mikoto looked surprised for a second before it disappeared. Then she chuckled. "Interesting question." Sasuke raised his head so he could see her in the eye. Mikoto was quiet for a few seconds, then she answered. "No, I don't hate him. He did what he thought was best. Does that mean he will go unpunished? Hell no." Mikoto smiled sweetly, a little _too _sweet. "Me and him are going to have a long _discussion _when I see him again." The way she said discussion made Sasuke shudder. It reminded him of why he was scared of her when he was younger. "Now do _you _ hate him?" asked Mikoto back.

Sasuke answered immediately. "No, I don't. Now that I know the truth, konoha is the only thing I hate." Sasuke said that with all the anger that he had.

Mikoto smiled. She had one of her sons back. Albeit, they were going to cause a lot of destruction, but hey, she's happy.

* * *

><p>"Mind telling me what this is about?" asked Naruto as he appeared in his mind.<p>

Kyuubi was silent for a few moments. **"I was the one who made it possible for you to get the rinnegan," **he finally said.

Naruto merely raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that so important that I had to come down here in person?"

_**"That's not all he has to say," **_said Dark Naruto as he appeared from the shadows.

Naruto glanced at him for a second before turning his attention back to kyuubi.

Kyuubi sighed. **"The whelp is right." **Dark Naruto just scoffed at the name. **"The reason you have the rinnegan is because you have both the Senju blood and now the sharingan. Of course, even with the sharingan, it wouldn't have been possible for you to have the rinnegan all of a sudden since it is the last phase of the sharingan. So while the operation was going on, I made it so that the process would be moved forward while skipping all of the other phases."**

Naruto just listened. "While I'm grateful, it doesn't explain why I'm here," he finally said.

Dark Naruto chuckled. Naruto looked back at him, and he stared right back. _**"This is where it gets interesting."**_

Naruto looked confused before looking at kyuubi again.

Kyuubi took a longer pause before looking at Naruto intently and serious. **"I have decided to cooperate with you."**

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "You already are. So I don't…" Naruto's eyes widened when he realized what he was really saying.

Kyuubi nodded his head. **"It seems you understand. There is no need for us to fight. I have already deemed you worthy of receiving my power."**

Naruto could not believe what he was hearing. Of course it didn't last very wrong. Five seconds later, he was grinning darkly, matching his dark counterpart. Once he mastered both the kyuubi's power and the rinnegan, he would be strong enough to finally destroy konoha.

Naruto looked at kyuubi. "Kyuubi…thank you." And he wasn't talking about just the fact he was giving him his chakra. It was for everything he did-the training, the truth. Naruto wondered for a second how he would have been if he stayed with Jiraiya before destroying the thought. It didn't matter to him anymore.

Kyuubi looked at him, before he came to a decision. **"From now on, call me Kurama." **At his confused look, he explained. **"That is the name that was given to me. I'd prefer if you call me that rather than what the other pathetic fleshbags do." **Both Narutos chuckled at that.

"Alright then…Kurama."

Naruto made his way towards the cage. Kurama looked confused, while Dark Naruto already knew what he was going to do, but wasn't going to try to stop him.

**"What are you doing?"**

Naruto didn't respond as he floated until he was high enough to where the seal was. Naruto looked at him. "I'm going to get you out of that cage." Naruto gripped the seal, and was about to tear it, when a hand grabbed his and stopped him from doing it. Three pair of eyes widened as Naruto was pushed back to the sewer water.

Kurama narrowed his eyes in anger. **"You're…"**

Dark Naruto laughed. But it wasn't one of his regular laughs when he's screwing around. It was one full of malice. _**"Well, if it isn't our dear daddy!"**_

The individual that stopped Naruto was none other than Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, in all his glory.

* * *

><p><strong>I'M BACK!<strong>

**Ya I know, it took me awhile to update, but fred not, I'm not dead! This should prove it to you. Well what can I say, it's summer! Best time of the year, with the beaches, and the bikinis, and the redheads wearing the bikinis! (female redheads, I'm straight thank you very much). Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Can't say when my next update will be, but I'll do it as soon as possible! As for the poll, I haven't checked it in awhile, but the romance comes later.**

**Laters, and happy summer**


	11. A Mother's Love

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"-Tailed Beast, Summoning, or Pain in his holographic form<br>_**"Hmm…"- **_**Dark Naruto****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: A Mother's Love<strong>

**"You're late…" **said Pain as he appeared before Deidara, and Sasori as they entered the hideout.

"It wasn't our fault…hmm," said Deidara, "the jinchuriki proved to be stronger than we anticipated." Sasori didn't say anything.

Pain merely stared at them for a few seconds before replying, **"It matters not. We must begin the extraction immediately." **He turned his back to them, and faced the inside of the cave. He went through a couple of seals before bringing his hands down to the ground, softly saying, **"Summoning Jutsu."**

A statue rose from the ground, or more precisely, **The Gedo Statue. "It is time we assemble." **One by one, figures started to appear above each finger. Deidara's clay bird dropped Gaara on the ground, before it disappeared. Then, he, along with Sasori, took their place in their respected fingers. **(AN:Yea, I know it sounds weird.)**

Pain's hologram then appeared in his respected spot. He looked at the rest of the members. **"We shall now commence the sealing of the one tails. Like before, it will take three days, and three nights."**

Hidan snorted from his spot. "This is such a pain in the ass. Don't you have a quicker method of doing this, _leader_?" He said Pain's title with so much sarcasm, anyone could have detected it. No one knew how Hidan got away with so much disrespect, but they weren't about to question it.

Pain glanced at his direction. **"You should be grateful that it isn't longer than it is. This is the fastest way possible, so deal with it."**

"Yeah, but if Orochimaru were still here, it wouldn't take this long," said Kisame from his spot. He was still a little irritated that he wasn't able to kill any of the konoha shinobi, especially the 'beast' one. But he knew he would have more chances, so he didn't dwell on it too much.

**"True. But since he's not, this is the best we can hope for. Now, no more questions. We need to start immediately." **He then looked at Zetsu. **"Have your real body stand guard and make sure no one sneaks up on us. Have the one with the longest range do it."**

"Understood."

He then turn his attention to everyone else. **"Keep your real bodies in check as well. It wouldn't be good if you were suddenly ambushed." **The others nodded. Pain nodded to himself, content. **"Then lets begin."**

* * *

><p>Naruto had learned to keep his emotions in check during his training. It wouldn't be good if an enemy could rile him up. He would be an easy target, no matter how much training, or how strong he got. That was something Kurama had drilled into him. But right now, no matter how much he tried, not that he was trying too much, he couldn't but let all his anger out. Why you ask? Because the person who was responsible for his fucked up life was standing right in front of him.<p>

The Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, stared at his son sadly. He knew everything that had happened. He had seen what his son had did, and what he was planning on doing. Some part of him couldn't blame him, but it was overruled by his 'hokage' side. He wouldn't allow his village to be in danger, even from his own son.

"Naruto," he began to say, "I'm…" whatever he was going to say was cut off as he was punched straight in the face, sending him back all the way to the cage, his back impacting hard with it. It was thanks to his shinobi instincts that he had build during the war that he was able to jump out of the way as a claw pierced through between the bars, despite the pain he felt. As he landed, he looked at Naruto, who was the one responsible for the punch. Instead of his natural blue eyes, the kyuubi's ruby eyes stared back at him, filled with hatred and malice.

Naruto was shaking in anger. All he wanted to do was to tear the yondaime in pieces. He wouldn't acknowledged that he was his father. He lost that privilege the moment he sealed kyuubi into him. Dark Naruto wasn't faring so well either. He could feel his power growing. He had never felt so strong in his life! But he wasn't paying much attention to that fact. He, as well as Naruto, only had one thing on their mind-TO KILL THE PERSON RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM!

As for Kurama, he was sharing the same thought process as the first two, except more graphic.

**"Yondaime…" **he began, **"come here so that I can rip you to shreds!"**

Minato looked back at him. "In that case, I'll stay away." He then turned his attention back to Naruto.

"Yondaime Hokage…" he said in a deadly tone, "I'm _honored _to have been graced by your presence. May I ask as to how you're here?"

Minato looked down, before explaining. "I placed some of my chakra in the seal formula, so that I would appear if eight tails of the kyuubi's power ever broke out of the seal, or if the kyuubi ever manipulated you to break the seal." He then looked back at Kurama again. "I don't know how you did it, but I won't let you poison my son with your lies anymore." Kurama just roared at him in anger, angry because he couldn't do anything to him.

Naruto then started to chuckle, but it was a chuckle that matched his counterpart's earlier one, one full of malice. "Lies?" he said. He looked at Minato with Kurama's ruby ones. "You got it wrong, _father_," he spat out the title with a lot of disgust, making Minato flinch, "the only lies I have been told have come from that hell hole of a village!" he screamed.

"Son, you don't understand…" he said, trying to ease his son's anger.

_**"Understand what? Why we were use as scapegoats for something we never had control in!" **_screamed Dark Naruto in anger.

"And don't you dare call me son!" continued Naruto. "As far as I'm concerned, you're just another konoha shinobi who ruined not only my life, but betrayed my clan as well!"

Minato could not believe this was happening. He didn't think his son could ever become someone like this. He had thought he was going to choose a different path. "I didn't know what else to do," he said, "I thought this was the best solution to save the village."

Naruto's anger increased at that. "Of course, all you care about is that damn village, even putting it before your flesh and blood!"

Minato smiled sadly. "That's what it means to be Hokage. I am sorry for everything that happened. I never wanted for you to suffer like that." Then, he turned serious, taking out his special **Hiraishin **kunai. "But I won't allow you to destroy the village. Even if it kills my heart, I will stop you."

Naruto just shook his head. "To think you would go this far…no I shouldn't be surprise after everything you already did." Minato said nothing. Dark Naruto suddenly stood next to Naruto, before they started to merge with each other. "Well then…**I guess we better GET STARTED!"**

* * *

><p>"Lest hurry we're almost at the rendezvous point!" said Kakashi, as he and the rest of the retrieval team headed to their appointed location.<p>

'I can't believe the akatsuki are moving so quickly,' thought Kakashi. He then glanced at his team, or more specifically, Sakura. She had been silent ever since she had been woken up after having the genjutsu removed. He suspected that she was angry for losing so easily. After all, it only took Itachi a mere glance, and she was defeated. He shook his head. He had other important matters to worry about.

Sakura sighed quietly to herself, as she hopped from tree to tree. She was berating herself for her embarrassing defeat. She had trained so hard for the last two years, but it looked as if nothing had changed. 'No,' she thought to herself, 'they are just too strong for me. How am I ever going to go against people like that? How am I ever going to catch up to Sasuke-kun and Naruto?' Her mood dampened when that thought crossed her mind. She was too weak to bring them together once again. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that was true. But she still refused to accept it. 'Somehow, I'm going to get them back to konoha, back home, where they belong…'

With that, the retrieval team continued its path to their target.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Obito stood on top of the Uchiha hideout, staring at the clouds. He could not believe how quickly things changed. Once upon a time, he was a konoha shinobi, ready to give his life for the sake of the village. Now…<p>

'To think I used to be like that…' Obito shook his head. His thoughts then drifted towards the only girl he ever loved. 'I still can't believe she died. But still…I guess it's better this way.' There was no doubt that she would have probably sided with the village. Then, he would have been forced to kill her, something he didn't think he could do.

His hand instinctively went to his left eye, the same eye he had given to Kakashi. Did he regret it? He would be lying if he said no, but it wasn't a complete yes either. But now he had new eyes, and was stronger than ever. He could take any kage and beat him or her. He could hold his own against two, but further than that, it was beyond his skill. He knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against the _real _Uchiha Madara. He doubted if there were any shinobi who could, beside the Shodai Hokage.

Except for the Uzumaki kid…Now he had the rinnegan, which would make him stronger than ever. And there was also the kyuubi's chakra. But Obito doubted the Tailed beast would lend it to him, considering how the beast was. But then again, it would seem kyuubi was content with where he was presently in, so there was a chance he might cooperate with the kid.

'But that is not my problem…'

* * *

><p>Minato grunted in pain as he hit one of the sewer walls with a large impact, creating a crack in it. He disappeared in a yellow flash as a fist suddenly appeared. Naruto reappeared in front of him in a black flash, and aimed for a kick as Minato blocked it, before taking his special kunai and bringing towards Naruto who blocked with it his own, before he disappeared in another black flash, reappearing on the other side of the room.<p>

'What is this?' thought Minato. 'He's as fast as I am! But how! I never knew he could be that fast. And he's not even using any type of seals…'

Kurama watched the fight seriously, already knowing what had happened. **'When they merged, Dark Naruto's abilities got transferred to Naruto as well. Which would mean Naruto can control darkness right now. Heh, this should be interesting. Now, which is faster-Darkness or the Flash?'**

Minato and Naruto suddenly went head on against each other, before Minato disappeared in a yellow flash, and reappearing behind Naruto, a rasengan in his hand. 'It's over,' he thought sadly as he went in for the kill. **"Rasengan!" **As the technique was about to hit, Naruto disappeared, showing up below Minato, with a dark grin, and a dark rasengan in ready. Minato's eyes widen. 'Shit! Not fast enough to…!' He wasn't able to finish or react in time as Naruto's rasengan hit him straight on his abdomen. **"DARK RASENGAN!" **Minato screamed in pain as he hit the ceiling, blood coming out of the impact zone, as well as his mouth.

Naruto looked up, before destroying the hiraishin seal that was on his back with his dark chakra. He step sideways as Minato fell, face first on the ground. Naruto looked at him, before picking him up by the throat. He held him there, and Minato fell more extreme pain as his wind pipe was being crushed.

**"I wish I could make you feel more pain, because believe me, this is **_**nothing **_**to what I have felt," **said Naruto with his demonic voice full of hatred, as well as his eyes. Minato could do nothing, already knowing that he had lost. A part of him was proud, knowing that his son was already stronger than him while being so young, before it was replace with sadness already knowing what he was going to do with that power.

Then before anything else happened, the room was covered in a bright light. Once it died down, they all look towards where it came from. Minato suddenly fell hope rise within him. He had forgotten that he had also done this, but now…'There is some hope after all,' he thought.

Naruto just narrowed his eyes until they widened in shock.

There was a person visible, and that person was none other than Uzumaki Kushina.

* * *

><p>Mikoto and her youngest son were walking throughout the hideout, trying to find where one Uzumaki Naruto was.<p>

"Are you sure he's not going to go against us?" asked Sasuke, already knowing, or thinking that he knew, how the blond fell about konoha.

Mikoto sighed. "Yes, he is. He's not the same person you once knew Sasuke. He wants to destroy konoha for the same reason we do." Sasuke froze at that. "What do you mean?" Mikoto turned and faced him. "His clan was also betrayed by konoha. Naruto's mother and my best friend, Uzumaki Kushina, was what they wanted. She arrived a few days before her homeland was attacked and destroyed. Konoha did nothing to help them. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they knew the attack was coming."

"But what would they want with her?" asked Sasuke with curiosity.

"She had special chakra, even among the uzumaki clan. Hence the reason she was chosen to be the next jinchuriki for the kyuubi." Sasuke's eyes widened at that, but didn't say anything, instead listened to the rest. "Konoha figured that they could just recreate the clan in the village, and they were going to get a powerful _weapon _as well, so it was a win-win situation for them," said Mikoto with anger. "Kushina didn't know this however, so she became loyal to konoha, and afterwards she fell in love with Namikaze Minato, the future yondaime, and they had Naruto." Sasuke's eyes widened further at that. To think Naruto was also the son of the Yondaime. "That is as far as I'm going to tell you. You want to know more, ask Naruto." Sasuke nodded.

But unknown to them, one Nii Yugito had hear everything. Stealth was her best skill, which is why she was the best assassin in all of kumo, after all. She then reappeared in the room she currently picked to stay in while they waited on what to do next. Her eyes were widened at the information she just learned.

'To think he's…'

**"Yes that is surprising, but that only makes him more desirable, aren't I right Yugito-chan?" **said Nibi from within her mind, purring.

Yugito's eyes twitched in anger. 'Is that the only thing you think about! Sex!'

**"That's all that matters." **was the response she got.

Yugito shook her head, before she became serious. 'The raikage needs to know about this….'

* * *

><p>Naruto, for the second time could, not believe his eyes. His grip on Minato loosened, but Minato was too injured to try anything. The only thing he could count was that Kushina could manage to make Naruto's anger disappear. What he didn't know was that if Kushina found out that konoha didn't even lift a finger to help her clan…..oh boy.<p>

Kushina's eyes opened before she looked around. The last thing she remembered was pleading to Minato to not seal the kyuubi within their newborn son…when

Her eyes widened. She needed to find her son! But where was she? As she scanned the room, her eyes landed on two similar looking blonds, except one had blue eyes, while the other one had red ruby eyes, almost crimson, and that the he had three whisker marks in each cheek. Her eyes widened when she took that detail in. The only person to have whiskers and blond hair was her baby boy! But wait a second, what the hell was going on?

She then recognized the other blond as Minato. But it seemed as if he was being chocked by their son!

"K-K-Ku-ushina," said Minato, barely. At the sound of his voice, Naruto's grip around his throat tightened again, making Minato puke out more blood.

Kushina was even more confused now. Just how did this happen? "What's going on here?" she asked. Naruto turned his attention towards her, but still keeping his tight grip on Minato's throat. He had to say, he had one hot mother! Her long red hair, which just like Mikoto, reached all the way towards her ass, which he could tell was nice and round, and had a nice body as well with just the right curves, even if what she was wearing wasn't sexy. Her looks alone made it look sexy! And that's saying something.

"Mom," said Naruto in a whispered tone, but in the silenced room as well as the sewer walls bouncing the sound of his voice, it was audible, "is that really you?"

Kushina nodded happily, glad to see her son. Then she remembered that Minato told her he was going to seal her soul to help Naruto battle kyuubi. But it didn't seem that was happening. Then why was she out here?

She then took notice of Minato and the state he was in. "Just what is going on here?" she asked once again, shock evident in her beautiful face.

"It's….complicated," answered Naruto, not sure what to say.

**"Kushina, never thought I would see you again," **said Kurama with a grin.

Kushina looked at kyuubi, but turned her attention back to her son. "I want to know everything!"

* * *

><p>Jiraiya looked dead serious at the information he had just received. It would seem two individuals had also been asking about Naruto. At first he thought it was akatsuki, but under the description he had gotten, one was female, and the other was male. Now, he didn't know of any female members in akatsuki, but that didn't mean there weren't any, but apparently they weren't wearing the standard akatsuki uniform. He didn't get any faces as it seemed that they were wearing black cloaks, and didn't show their faces to anyone.<p>

Jiraiya sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. As if things weren't bad enough already. His godson already had the akatsuki after him, now he's got two more individuals to worry about. As he walked through the streets, he decided to take a brake. He entered a dango shop that looked to serve good food. He sat at one of the back tables, before thinking over everything that he knew.

The akatsuki hadn't captured Naruto yet, that much he was sure of, because they didn't know where he was. But it wouldn't stay way for long. It would only be a matter of time before they found him. And he didn't know if he had gotten any stronger. Jiraiya looked sad at that. 'Why would he leave?' he thought sadly. If only he knew what the blond was thinking, or where he was. 'Naruto, just what are you planning on doing?'

"Welcome, sir. May I take your order?" asked a cute young waitress.

Jiraiya smirked. "Why, yes you may…."

* * *

><p>Danzo paced around his room in one of his many Root bases. Things were not going good as of late. First with the kyuubi boy disappearing, his operatives being taken out by an unknown, and now the ichibi would be in the grasp of the akatsuki. That would be another tailed beast in their possession. They were progressing a lot faster than he anticipated. And if they captured the kyuubi…<p>

Danzo clenched his hand that was holding his cane. There was no way he was going to lose something as powerful as the kyuubi. He needed it for his plans. If only Sarutobi had let him train the boy….

But it was too late for that. Danzo sat in one of his chairs. What could his next move be? He needed to be careful. He couldn't afford any more mistakes.

* * *

><p>Kushina was currently in too much shock. Why? Because she currently learned of everything that had happened, and more. She could not believe that the place she called home betrayed her like that! But not only her, but her entire clan. And of the life her son had lived. But in her mind, she knew it would happen. She was a jinchuriki as well. She told Minato this would happen!<p>

Naruto just stared at his mother. Even though he wanted nothing more than to just embrace her, there was the chance that she could side with konoha. And he would never let something as affection stop him. He had never had it in his entire life, and didn't need it now. No, the time for affections was well passed. During his childhood, that's when he need it. Not now. Not in the future.

Minato's coughing brought them back to reality. Naruto narrowed his eyes in anger. It was time he finished him. But before that…

A clone came out of the darkness. It made its way towards the cage and the seal before ripping it. The mechanism turned clockwise, and the gates opened.

Kushina just looked on.

"N-no," said Minato weakly. Why wasn't Kushina doing something!

Kurama grinned as he made his way out of the cage. Minato stared at him, fear evident in his eyes. **"Well, Kurama. You also wanted a piece of him. I'm already tired of this." **Kurama just nodded. Naruto threw Minato towards him, and the last thing he saw was big white teeth.

While Kurama was enjoying playing with his 'food', Naruto faced his mother, and walked towards her. He stopped when he was right in front of her. **"So this is who I am. My goal is to destroy konoha. I won't rest till everyone in that village is dead! So, what do you say, kaa-san, are you going to join me?" **said Naruto as he extended his hand.

Kushina looked at his hand, before staring at him. "Konoha was my home. I once thought I owed them for everything they did for me. But finding this out..." she then looked at him straight in the eyes. "Is this what you really want? To destroy the very people you once called friends?" Naruto nodded. He had already come to terms with that a long time ago. Then Kushina took his hand. "Then yes, I will join you." She smiled. Naruto smiled back. But it wasn't a fake one. It was one of those few moments in which he really did smile. The Kushina embraced him.

Softly she said,"Naruto, no matter what, remember that I love you. More than anything in the world."

* * *

><p><strong>Yo!<strong>

**Well, what do you think? Good? Bad? Somewhere in the middle? And some of you might be wondering how Kushina will be able to stay once her chakra runs out. Well the answer is very simple. But that comes in the next chapter. And if it's not believable, than just suck it up as Fanfiction!**

**Hope your summer is going well. Mine right now is….weird. But hey, who doesn't like some weirdness in their life?**

**Till next time**

**Hood out**


	12. Right or Wrong is Matter of Perspective

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
><strong>"Hmm…"-<strong> **Tailed Beast, Summoning, Kushina(for now), or Pain  
><em><strong>"Hmm…"<strong>_**- Dark Naruto******

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: Right or Wrong is a Matter of Perspective<strong>

"These are the last of them, Tsunade-sama," said Shizune as she brought a relatively small stack of paper. Now you might be wondering if this was the usual paperwork that caused all kages to hate the job. If it were any other given day, or probably week, you would have been right. But not today.

"Thank you, Shizune," responded Tsunade as she scanned through the book that was currently in her hand. It look old, and worn out, which was no surprise considering how old it was.

"If I may ask, Tsunade-sama," began Shizune as she looked at the two medium sized stacks of paper on the desk, "_what _exactly are you looking for?"

Tsunade sighed before she put the book down on her desk. She placed her elbows on her desk, folded her hands together, and looked at her oldest apprentice. "What I'm about to tell you is top secret. You are not to tell _anyone_, understood?" she said seriously. Shizune nodded. She rarely saw her master like this, and when it was, it was important.

"I discovered this accidentally. If it weren't for Danzo sending his lackeys out, I would never have found this out." She took a pause, before she continued. "Since it became clear that that old goat was still up to his old games, and that he still had his Root division active, I decided to look through sensei's old files, see what he had on Root so that I could finish that program, hence why I asked you to bring them." Shizune nodded, understanding so far. "While looking through them, I found this hidden within them." She picked the old book up. "What is it?" asked Shizune. "It turns out to be sensei's diary, everything that he kept record of." Tsunade looked down at that. Shizune could see she was sad, but for what reason? "What was in it?" she finally asked.

Tsunade sighed. "Everything. Everything since the second shinobi war, which is when he started it, to his death. I don't know what it was doing inside those documents, but it doesn't matter." Tsunade shook her head. "How could I have been so foolish. I should have known…" she muttered to herself. Shizune became even more confused. "Tsunade-sama, what are you talking about?"

Tsunade looked at her apprentice. "Turns out I was right. This place really is a hell hole."

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up with a start, finding the stares of both Uchiha Mikoto, and Uchiha Sasuke. "Finally awake, dobe?" you know who said that.<p>

Naruto mentally chuckled, the nickname bringing memories of when they were a team. Outwardly, he asked, "When did you get here?"

Mikoto decided to answer. "Oh, about a couple of hours ago." She raised one of her eyebrows. "What were you doing, anyway? I know for a fact that you weren't sleep, more like in deep concentration."

Naruto didn't answer, instead getting out of bed, and putting a black shirt on, the shodai's crystal necklace underneath. He already had his black anbu pants on. "Oh, nothing. Just had to take care of some personal business," he finally said. Sasuke and Mikoto just looked at him with curiosity, but he didn't say anything else, instead walking out of the room, the two uchihas having no choice but to follow.

The truth was that after Kurama had enjoy his 'meal', and mother and son had stopped their embrace, the two decided to get to know each other, hoping to get to make up for lost time. They were also trying to find a way to give energy to Kushina's soul once it ran out of chakra. The two had lost track of time, and would have continued if it weren't for the interruption.

"So," began Mikoto, "what will our next move be?" Sasuke stayed quiet, trying to see if his mother was right about the blond.

Naruto gave her a glance before looking forward. "For right now I'm going to train with my new eyes." 'And Kurama's power,' he mentally added.

**"Oh, I didn't know Miko-chan was here," **said Kushina from within his mind. **"And, oh my, she doesn't look any older than the last time I saw her!"**

_**"Oh yeah, I gotta agree with you on that," **_said Dark Naruto, _**"but then again, you're a real beauty as well."**_

Kushina giggled. **"Why thank you for the compliment."**

Dark Naruto grinned, not that the original could see. _**"No problem."**_

Kurama quietly grumbled to himself. **'Oh dear lord, now I have to deal with **_**this**_**!'**

Naruto mentally shook his head at his other self, not quite believing that he would see their mother like that, even if he agreed, not that he would say that out loud. 'We need to talk,' he said to his other self seriously.

_**"Oh," **_said Dark Naruto, not surprised, _**"and what, pray tell, do we need to talk about?"**_

'Later,' was all he said.

Dark Naruto grinned to himself. Of course he knew what he wanted to talk about. They were the same, after all.

Sasuke looked at Naruto, not quiet believing that he was the same person as the one he once knew. But not only that, he seemed stronger than ever, probably even than himself. And now he had a strong dojutsu, which would make him stronger. He clenched his left hand, irritated at that fact. Their rivalry was still present even after two years, stronger if I were to say so myself, and him finding out that he was that far ahead, well you could see why he was irritated.

Mikoto glanced at her younger son, already knowing what was troubling him. 'This is something that is not needed at the moment,' she thought to herself. Indeed, trouble within the group could cause major consequences. 'For the time being, they should not be together.' She mentally grinned. 'Well I was planning on having my entire family reunion, anyways.'

"Well then, while you do that, me and Sasuke have something to do," she said out loud.

Sasuke's rivalry thoughts left at the moment, replaced by confusion.

Now it was Naruto's turn to raise an eyebrow. "And what might that be?" he asked her.

Mikoto chuckled. "It's something personal." Now Sasuke understood.

Naruto nodded. "Suit yourself," he said.

"Oh, and Obito will be staying with you, along with that kumo bitch."

Naruto sweatdropped at what she called Yugito.

**"Kumo bitch? Who's that?" **asked Kushina.

_**"Oh, that's just another beauty. Don't worry, you'll meet her soon."**_

Naruto nodded again. With that Mikoto and Sasuke started to walk away.

_**"What do you think they're gonna do?"**_

'I don't know, and I don't care. I have a rinnegan to master, as well as you're power, Kurama.'

Kurama nodded. **"With shadow clones, it will be faster, but it doesn't mean it's gonna be easier."**

Naruto said nothing.

* * *

><p>Mikoto, Sasuke, Obito, and Team Hebi were standing outside the Uchiha hideout in the Land of Lightning.<p>

"So you're leaving?" asked Obito.

Mikoto nodded. "Yes. It shouldn't take too long. And keep your eye on that idiot to make sure he doesn't overdo it, as well as that little kitty cat."

Obito nodded, quite amused at their 'conquest' against each other. But hey, who doesn't enjoy cat fights?

Once he left, she turned to Team Hebi. "All right, then, our mission is quite simple." She took a pause. "Our mission is to find one Uchiha Itachi." The team weren't all that surprised. Besides, that was their mission before it was interrupted by this reunion.

"So what are we gonna do?" asked Suigetsu. "Are we gonna split up again, and see what we can find?"

Mikoto shook her head. "That won't be necessary. Even though I don't really care what akatsuki's goal is, or what they're up to, I still needed to keep tabs on my older son. We just need to contact one of my contacts, and we'll find him."

'Well that will make this easier,' thought Karin. Juugo agreed with her also. Suigetsu was just subtly checking Sasuke's mom out. Well Mikoto knew what he was doing, but didn't bother to stop him.

"I didn't know you kept a spy network," said Sasuke.

Mikoto smirked. "Well I do, and while not as great as Jiraiya's, it gets the job done. Now lets move!" The five disappeared.

Nii Yugito watched them leave from the rooftop. She had already sent her message to the raikage, but without receiving a reply, she would just have to stay here for the moment.

**"Not that it will be a problem," **said Nibi.

Yugito sighed. 'What do you want now?' she said.

**"It's not what I want, but what you want."**

'What are you talking about?' asked Yugito, quite confused.

**"Oh, you can't lie to me, kitten! I know that you want nothing more than to just ride that man till you die! I've seen your recent dreams, after all…"**

Yugito blushed. 'YOU WHAT!'

Nibi shrugged. **"Well I was bored, soooo…."**

'I can't believe you! We need to have a serious talk about privacy!'

**"Hey, you're the one who had the dreams, so don't blame me! All I did I was take a peak….maybe."**

Yugito just grumbled to herself, the blush still in place, as she walked back inside the hideout.

* * *

><p>Shizune could not believe what she just heard. She knew her master hated the village until she met Naruto. Well, she knew for a fact that somewhere deep inside that she still did, and that Naruto was the only one keeping her here. It was a miracle she hadn't left yet. Maybe she was hoping that Naruto was going to return.<p>

"Tsunade-sama, just what is inside that journal?" asked Shizune.

Tsunade stood up from her chair, and walked to one of the windows, looking down at the village. "It turns out that they knew all along, but didn't do anything," she said.

This confused Shizune even more. "Knew what?"

Tsunade sighed. "Kiri, Iwa, and Kumo were planning on attacking Uzu. It was pretty obvious why."

Shizune looked down, starting to understand. "Because they were becoming too powerful."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. They feared that they would become strong enough to take all of them out, and with their alliance, konoha would benefit. Hell, konoha was already benefiting. But that's not the point. It seems that a few days before the attack was to commence, one konoha spy in kiri learned of the information, and send it back here as soon as possible. At first they were contemplating on wether or not to help them." She chuckled, except that it was dead. "To think that they were _contemplating _instead of immediately helping them. Selfish bastards, all of them…" She shook her head. "In the end, they decided it was too risky and didn't do anything. It was shortly after the second shinobi war, so they didn't want to lose any more resources. Besides, they already had what they wanted…."

Shizune's head went up at that. "Which was what?"

"Kushina, of course." Even though her back was turned, Tsunade could see the confusion on her apprentice's face. "She had arrived a few days prior, as on scheduled, as she was to be made the second jinchuriki of the kyuubi. With her, they already had a powerful weapon in their hands. Apparently they were also scared of the uzumakis. Like the other villages, they feared that maybe one day uzu would turn against them. Idiots. If they would have used their heads they would have realized how stupid that sounded."

Shizune was at loss of words. To think the village she loved could do this…

"They also came up with the idea that they could just rebuild the clan in konoha where they could control it. And Kushina was none the wiser. She became the second host as planned, and a good konoha shinobi." It all made sense to Tsunade. Why her grandmother never allowed for her to be checked by her. She always had her suspicions but decided to never act on them.

"A-and the sandaime went along with this?" asked Shizune.

"But of course. In his mind, he was doing the right thing, the best for the village, not knowing that he was also betraying his teachers, as well as the very founder of this village!" Tears were coming out of Tsunade's eyes by this point. How could she have been so foolish! She should have known that there was no way that konoha didn't know! Even before Jiraiya, konoha had a good spy network. To think her grandmother was betrayed like this….and Naruto.

Oh, Naruto! If he ever found out about this….

'Is that why he left?' she asked to herself. 'Because he somehow found out about this….'

Tsunade closed her eyes tightly, but the tears still came. Shizune just had her head down, not knowing what to say. But what could she say?

'What will I do?' thought Tsunade. 'What will I do….'

* * *

><p>"Thank you very much," said Baki in gratitude.<p>

"Yes, you don't know how much this means to us," said Temari.

"You can thank us once we get him back," said Inuzuka Hana.

Uzuki Yugao nodded. "Yes. But don't worry, we will complete this mission."

The team Tsunade had dispatched was composed of Hana, codenamed Dog, Yugao, codenamed Cat, Tenzo, the captain, codenamed Yamato, a nameless anbu, whose skill apparently was good enough to be here, codenamed Eagle, and Hana's triplets. They were all wearing the standard anbu uniform, along with the mask, well except for the dogs.

Yamato clapped his hands together. "Well then, lets get a move on." The other three nodded.

Just as they were about to leave, movement caught their eye. And it happened to be none other than the Itachi/Sasuke retrieval team. As they arrived at the entrance to the sand village, Yamato stepped up. "Kakashi-sempai, it seems you made it in time."

Kakashi nodded, feeling refreshed after a soldier pill. "Yes. For a moment, I thought we weren't going to." He then took the rest of the team in, recognizing them instantly. He used to be in anbu, after all. He felt a lot better to have them with the team.

Temari gazed at the newly arrived shinobi, before realizing Naruto wasn't there. Voicing her observation, she asked, "Umm, if I may ask, where is Naruto?" The rookies all flinched at the question, looking down. Kakashi, too looked away.

Sakura decided to answer. "Temari, h-he left the village two years ago." Temari's eyes widened at the answer. In her mind, there was no way the little grunt would ever leave.

Kakashi decided to intervene. "I know you have questions, but they're gonna have to wait. We have a mission to complete." Temari nodded. "Well then team, lets move!"

"Wait a moment!" somebody screamed. The team, Baki, and Temari turned to find elder Chiyo walking towards them. "I shall accompany you."

"But Lady Chiyo, you retired a long time ago!" said Baki.

Chiyo shook her head. "It would seem as if I have to come out of retirement. Besides, there needs to be a sand shinobi present for this. Gaara is our kage, not theirs." Baki just sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win.

Kakashi just looked at her, and nodded before turning to the rest of the team. "Lets go!"

As they left, Temari wished she could go with them, but knew she couldn't as she had a stupid border patrol mission ordered by those idiots in the council. One question came to her mind though-'Why would you leave, Uzumaki Naruto?'

* * *

><p>Danzo could not keep the scowl out of his face. "Are you sure Fuu?" he asked one of his best subordinates.<p>

"Yes, Danzo-sama."

Danzo's hand on his cane almost broke it. Another mistake! Another fucking mistake! That senju woman would now know everything. If only he had known that she was investigation, better if he had known where the sandaime's journal was! He never expected to be hidden in the open!

'What was that old fool thinking!' he though angrily. What could he do now? He didn't know what Tsunade would do. If she left...

His ove visible eye widened. Yes! This could be his chance at last! If she left, he could become hokage at last! He would find the kyuubi, and bring it back to konoha where it belong. As well as the Uchiha. Then the clan would would be recreated, under his control. The only problem was akatsuki. But it didn't matter. As long as he had the kyuubi, their plan wouldn't come to be achieved.

'Yes,' thought Danzo, 'this could work to my advantage. Now Tsunade, all you have to do is run away like you did last time. Then, my time shall come...'

* * *

><p>Everything was eery silent within the akatsuki hideout, except for the sound of the extraction of the ichibi within Gaara.<p>

But Uchiha Itachi wasn't paying attention to that. No he was too much in thought. He had a feeling in his gut that something messed up was going to happen. He didn't know why he had that feeling, just that it was there. But what could happen? There wasn't really anything that could shock him at this point.

Well except for Naruto. He had rightfully earned the title of the 'most unpredictable ninja' for sure. The blond was an enigma, even to Itachi. But he knew sooner or later they were going to meet. The blond was his target after all.

'We'll see then if you have really gotten stronger.' He subtly looked at the members. It wouldn't be long for casualties to occur. He was amazed no one had died yet, but it was going to happen. Not to mention the fact that his time was running short. He was going to have to face Sasuke as well. But he was really interested in meeting Naruto once before that happened.

Itachi mentally shook his head. It had been awhile that he was interested in something. He cleared his head out of any thoughts. For the moment he had to keep up his cover. He didn't want to kill the boy, heck he didn't want to kill any of the jinchuriki, but it was a sacrifice for the greater good.

Just like he did that night 7 years ago.

* * *

><p>Naruto appeared within his mind once again.<p>

"What are you doing here?" asked Kushina. "I thought you were going to train."

"I am," said Naruto, "but first I have to clear something with him." He gestured towards his counterpart who was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed.

Dark Naruto smirked, before opening his eyes and looking at him. _**"So, what is it?" **_Kurama decided to just watch this unfold.

"It's about time you and me clear this situation once and for all," said Naruto.

"What situation?" asked Kushina, looking between the two.

_**"Isn't it obvious?" **_said Dark Naruto, before he gave his full attention to his other self. _**"You've also felt it then?" **_It was more of a statement than a question.

Naruto nodded. "Yes I have. When we merged, I felt better than ever, even now."

Dark Naruto smirked once again. _**"But of course. I'm the completion of your soul, and you are mine. When we connected, we became a whole, complete, making us one once again."**_

Naruto took a step forward, as well as Dark Naruto. "Then you want to do this as well."

_**"Of course I do. Once we do, things will be easier for me and you."**_ They were face to face by this time. Dark Naruto placed his right hand on Naruto's left shoulder, his smirk still in place. _**"But just so you know, you screw up, and I will come back." **_He looked at Kushina over Naruto's shoulder, throwing her a wave with his free hand. _**"Be seeing u babe!" **_With that he disappeared, becoming one with Naruto once again.

Naruto looked at his left hand, feeling complete once again.

**"Feeling better, heh Naruto?" **said Kurama.

"Yes I do," answered Naruto quietly. Kushina placed a hand on his shoulder making him look at her.

"While you were looking for a place to train, me and Kurama found a solution to the 'limited energy' problem."

Naruto looked relieved at that. He didn't want to lose his mother after just barely getting to know her. "And what was it?"

**"Quite simple really," **said Kurama, **"don't know how we didn't think of this before, but all I have to do is lend her some of my chakra, which is just about a fraction of a tail, not that much really."**

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "That easily? But wait, isn't your chakra harmful to anyone but me?"

Kushina chuckled, making him look at her. "Naruto-kun, remember that I was the jinchuriki before you. My body, well my soul as well, is used to it."

Naruto chuckled as well. "Sorry, guess I forgot."

**"What now?" **asked Kurama, after a moment of silence.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Naruto before he along with Kushina appeared on top of Kurama's head, one of Naruto's arm around Kushina's waist, making her blush lightly. It would seem Dark Naruto was still present after all.

Naruto grinned. "It's time for the last of my training."

* * *

><p><strong>Well? Surprised?<strong>

**Ya I know, 2 updates in a row. Well I just wanted to get this out since I'm going on a trip and don't know when I'll be back. And the solution to the energy problem, quite easily solved, huh? Well I think so, and like I said last time, not believable? Well it's fanfiction!**

**Good? Bad? Review so I can see how I'm doing! And a heads up, we won't be seeing Naruto for….some number of chapters. The next couple of chapters are going to center around the whole 'ichibi extraction' fiasco, as well as Itachi seeing his mother alive after 7 years, and konoha's reaction to Mikoto being alive.**

**That's all from me.  
>Laters<strong>


	13. When shit goes down

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beast, Summoning, Black Zetsu, jutsus or Pain<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: When shit goes down…<strong>

"Are you sure we should go in one group, Kakashi-sempai?" asked Tenzo, a.k.a. Yamato.

Kakashi looked back at him as he hopped from tree to tree. The now dubbed 'save Gaara' team was now making its way towards the akatsuki hideout, thanks to Pakkun who had discovered it earlier. "What makes you think we should split up?" he asked back.

Yamato looked straight ahead, "We are a big group, sempai. The enemy will have an easier time finding us thanks to our numbers." Yugao, a.k.a. Cat, agreed with him also. "He's right sempai," she said. "It would be better if we were not to have any confrontation with the enemy till we reach the enemy's location."

Kakashi sighed. While he agreed with them in part, the plan also presented other problems. "While you're right, there's something else we need to keep in mind." The two, including Hana, a.k.a. Dog, as well as the other nameless anbu, a.k.a. Eagle, listened closely. "Even if we split up into smaller groups, there's still the chance that they will detect us. Then we, who are split up, will have a smaller chance of defeating the enemy. This is akatsuki we're talking about. Its members include people like Uchiha Itachi, probably stronger than him. If we stick together, we a have more likely chance of taking them out. Teamwork is important after all." He gave them all, his famous eye smile.

"Alright then." Cat nodded. She should have expected this. She was once under his command. Kakashi was all for teamwork.

Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma joined the conversation as well. "Kakashi is right," said Guy, "we will have a stronger chance this way."

Dog sighed. Even if she didn't show it, she was worried about this mission. It was akatsuki they were dealing with. Not to mention the fact that her little brother was here as well. There was no doubt that he wasn't strong enough to take any of the members of that organization. She would have to keep a close eye on him. Shinobi were not meant to feel any emotions, that much was true. But no matter how much you may try, they always appear.

She sighed once again, before she shook her head. She needed to stay focus.

On the front, the rookies were having their own thoughts.

They were gonna face a strong opponent, but they were gonna try their best. And who knows? Maybe they'll get some clues as to where Naruto was. He is a target of the akatsuki.

No one saw the figure coming out of one of the trees.

* * *

><p>"We have company," said Zetsu.<p>

The leader, or Pain, looked at him. **"Already? Well, that was a little earlier than expected, but expected nonetheless." **He looked around all the members, trying to see who was best suited. **"Now, who to send…"**

**"If I may," **started Zetsu, except this time his voice was different from before, **"it would be better if two members went."**

The other members looked at him questionably. "And why is that, hmm?" asked Deidara.

"It would appear that there are a quite a few of them," answered Zetsu, **"so it would be safer this way." **

**"Enough," **said Pain, **"now, who shall go?"**

"Me," said Hidan, his eyes having a crazy look on them, "I should be the one to go. They will all make good sacrifices!"

**"I suggest that Itachi and Kisame go."**

Hidan looked down at that. Pain nodded. **"It is decided then. And we shall use **_**that **_**jutsu."** He then looked at Itachi and Kisame. **"Make sure to only use thirty percent of your chakra. The rest will be needed for the extraction jutsu."**

Kisame nodded. "It will be enough." Then he grinned. 'Looks like I get to have some fun…'

Itachi just looked bored.

* * *

><p>Sasuke was at a loss at what to do. He never imagined that he would ever be in this position. He never imagined all the things that happened to him in these last couple of days. He took a glance at his mother at his side. Who knows what she was gonna do once they found Itachi?<p>

Sasuke then thought about his brother, the same he hated with his life no less than a day before, but now that he knew what really happened that night. To think he once called konoha his home….well it looks like he made the right choice in leaving.

"Sasuke," said Mikoto all of a sudden, "leave all the talking to me. I know you wanna talk to your brother, but that will come later. We will have to persuade to come with us willingly, not to mention the fact that he has his partner with him."

Sasuke quietly nodded. He knew that akatsuki worked in pairs, and he had already met them before.

"Excuse me," said Karin. Mikoto looked back at her with an uninterested look. "What?" she said. Karin readjusted her glasses, a habit of hers when she was nervous, before answering. "Who might this partner be?"

Mikoto turned her head back. "Hoshigaki Kisame."

Karin's eyes widened. She knew the stories of that man, of everything he did in kiri, killing his own comrades, and a bunch of more horrific things that she didn't know. She doubted that even Orochimaru in his prime could have taken the man, said to be a tailed beast without a tail, thanks to the amount of chakra he possessed.

Suigetsu smirked. Looked like he was going to get the chance of possessing one of the other famous swords of kiri. He made the right choice of sticking around with Sasuke, it seemed. 'And looking at his hot ass mom made for a great bonus,' he thought.

Juugo was just silent. All he cared about was seeing what Sasuke was capable of.

Mikoto glanced to her right as she hopped from a tree, before smirking.

As they continued further on, Zetsu appeared from the same tree that Mikoto looked at. "This is unexpected," said the white half.

**"Indeed, but who's the woman?" **"I don't know, but she had the Uchiha crest…." The two halves went silent after that.

* * *

><p><strong>"We have more company," <strong>said Black Zetsu.

Pain opened his eyes, and looked at Deidara, and Sasori. **"You two didn't cover your tracks very well, did you?" **he said.

Deidara started to sweat. "Like I said, the jinchuriki proved to be stronger than we expected, hmm."

Sasori shook his head from his spot. "Your methods are too crude for any secret operation."

Deidara looked outraged at that. "Oh yeah, well those explosives of yours aren't exactly subtle, my friend, hmm."

"Why you…" started Sasori.

**"No arguing amongst yourselves," **interrupted Pain. **"Now who to send this time?"**

"Me!" said Hidan. "Now you have to send me!"

**"There's more," **said Black Zetsu. "They're not heading towards here."

Once again, nobody said anything.

**"Where are they heading then?" **asked Pain.

**"Towards Itachi's and Kisame's location."**

Pain narrowed his eyes. **"That's unexpected…"**

**"One of them is Uchiha Sasuke…" **he was interrupted. "That grunt is mine!" screamed Deidara. **"Deidara, this is no time for your personal vendetta," **said Pain coldly, making him shut up. **"Continue."**

Zetsu nodded. **"Like I said, Uchiha Sasuke is one of them, as well as the team he created, but there is one more among them…" **he paused here. Pain looked on impatiently. **"And that is?" **he asked. **"It looks to be a female Uchiha."**

Once more, nobody said anything. **"This is troubling…" **Pain said, finally.

"What shall we do?" asked Kakuzu, finally joining the conversation.

Pain was silent for a few moments, before replying. **"Kakuzu, you and Hidan shall go and stall them. Make sure they don't interrupt the sealing."**

* * *

><p>"Everybody stop!" screamed Hana, sensing two smells she didn't recognize.<p>

The others complied, before their eyes widened at who they saw.

Kisame chuckled. "Well, ain't this a surprise."

Itachi, once again, didn't say a word. He just looked at them quietly.

'So soon,' though Kakashi, 'which means the extraction has already begun.'

"So that's him," said Chiyo quietly, gazing at Itachi, "the boy who killed his entire clan."

Kisame stepped forward, making the konoha shinobi tense. He took Samehada off his back and pointed it at Guy once again. "You and I have unfinished business, beast," he said. Guy just looked on confused. He really didn't know what he was talking about!

Kakashi just removed his headband from his left eye, his sharingan appearing. "Everyone get ready."

Kisame went through a set of seals, smirking, and before anyone can stop him, his technique came. **"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!" **A mini sea appeared, making the konoha shinobi disperse, lest they be hit by the coming water. Guy suddenly had to block a kick directed at his lower abdomen. He came face to face with Kisame's smirking face. "I told you, we have unfinished business!"

Kakashi, who landed at a nearby tree branch, looked at the mini sea now present in the forest, before spotting Guy who was dogging Kisame's strikes from Samehada. Just as we was about to help him, his senses picked up danger from below. **"Fire Style: Great Fireball!" **A huge fireball made his way towards him, making him in turn do the substitution jutsu.

Itachi merely glanced at the burnt log, before dodging a sword strike from his left. As he jumped back, he gazed at the purple haired anbu, recognizing her instantly. "Kiba, lets go!" "Alright!" Itachi didn't have to turn around to know what was coming. Two screams of **"Gatsuga!"**, and he was pushing chakra to his feet, jumping upward, dodging the double attack. As he landed, he took in his situation. 'This could be troublesome,' he thought.

**"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!" ** Kisame immediately cut his flow of chakra to his feet, making him submerge underwater, the attack missing.

"Guy-sensei!" said Neji, as he, Tenten, and Lee landed beside him.

Guy gave them a slight nod. "Thanks for the support, but stay focus." The team looked around, trying to find the swordsman.

"Below us!" screamed Neji, finding him thanks to his byakugan. Thanks to his experience, Guy jumped away in time, and Neji who saw the attack coming. Lee and Tenten weren't so lucky. Their eyes widened as their feet were grabbed from below, pushing them down. Two Kisames came out of the water. Just as Neji was about to help his teammates, another Kisame came from behind, bringing Samehada down on him, making Neji to protect himself. **"Kaiten!" **This Kisame was hit, before exploding in water, making Neji realize that they were water clones.

The two Kisames smirked as they finished their handseals. With a shout of **"Water Style: Water Prison!" **and Lee and Tenten were caught in the technique.

Guy cursed as he saw this.

**"Shannaro!" **screamed Sakura as she brought her fist down upon Itachi. As she made contact, she smirked, before it turned to one into worry as 'Itachi' burst into crows. She screeched as she was pulled on, Itachi swinging her a good twenty feet. As she stopped, she hissed in pain as she felt her shoulder. 'His physical strength is amazing,' she thought.

Team ten came into the picture. **"Partial Expansion!" **Choji brought his enlarged fist back. Before it came into contact, the fist stopped, as well as Choji. "Choji was wrong?" asked Shikamaru in worry.

_"__**Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes" **_thought Itachi as he looked at him with his sharingan eyes. Choji looked around in worry inside the genjutsu world. Soon the stakes came on him, making him scream. He fell face first on the water, floating away. With that, Choji was out. 'One down,' thought Itachi.

He took out a kunai from his cloak, and blocked another strike from Cat. "Eagle now!" Eagle came from behind, his sword in hand. Itachi smirked. 'What?' thought Cat. "Yugao down!" screamed Kakashi as he appeared beside Yugao, pushing her underwater. Eagle on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. An explosion later, and he was dead.

"This isn't good," said Shikamaru as he barely pulled Choji from the water thanks to his weight. "How is he?" he asked Ino. Ino shook her head. "He's alive, but he's trapped in a strong genjutsu," she answered. Asuma was looking around, trying to find Itachi. 'We're not well organized,' he thought.

Sakura stood up. She was cursing inside her mind. 'Was all my training for nothing?' she asked herself once again. 'He's just playing around with us.'

**"Kaiten!" **screamed Neji as blocked the water bullet from Kisame. Kisame smirked. "Well, it would seem you have a descent student," he said.

Guy narrowed his eyes. 'I might have to use _that _move after all,' he thought. "Neji," he said out loud. Neji glanced at him. "once I tell you to, go and rescue Tenten and Lee." Neji nodded. Kisame was just looking at them, his smirk still in place.

He brought his hands together, making Neji and Guy take a step back. **"Water Style: Rain Water Shark Wave!" **"Neji, now!" Neji made his way towards his trapped teammates.

Guy concentrated, his gates opening as the technique hit head on. Kisame looked confused at that. 'He didn't even try to dodge,' he thought. He didn't care about the others. All he wanted was to kill Guy.

**"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palms!" **The two water clones didn't have a chance. They, along with the water prison, were destroyed. Tenten sucked a big scoop of air as she fell down, breathing hard, before Neji caught her.

"You okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, thanks Neji. I owe you one," she said as she smiled at him.

Lee turned his attention towards where his sensei was last seen, before he was blinded by a bright light. Neji and Tenten following.

Kisame shield his eyes as he saw the water being pushed back. 'What tremendous amount of chakra!' he thought.

_**"Sixth Gate: Kai!"**_

Before Kisame could react, Guy was in front of him. 'Fast!' thought Kisame. It was also his last. **"Asa Kujaku!" **And with a barrage of hits from that move, Kisame was flung back all the way out of the mini sea, dead. Or so team Guy thought….

Kurenai grunted as the air left her from a tremendous punch in her gut, courtesy of one Uchiha Itachi.

**"Chakra Needle!" **Itachi skillfully dodged all of the chakra needles, before throwing Kurenai away. 'Impressive technique,' he thought as he looked at Hinata.

Hinata glanced at her sensei, seeing that she was knocked out, but alive. 'I can't win here,' she thought as she looked at Itachi. Thanks to the byakugan, she could dispel all of the genjutsus he could throw at her, except for Tsukuyomi of course. 'What am I going to do?' she thought worriedly.

Before Itachi could make a move, he looked upwards, a sphere of insects heading his away.

**"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere." **said Shino quietly as he appeared on top of a tree.

Itachi crouched down, before doing a set of seals. **"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire."**

The insects were fried by the small fireballs as soon as they were hit. Shino silently cursed before dodging a punch from Itachi who was suddenly in front of him. Itachi raised an eyebrow in respect before rushing back in. Shino barely managed to to dodge all the strikes from Itachi. Itachi jumped back. 'An aburame who's good at taijutsu? Well, that's a nice surprise,' thought Itachi. He was suddenly the one dodging, however, as Hinata came at him with her 'gentle fist.'

Itachi dodged all of her strikes before jumping upwards, surprising Hinata, as he came down with an axe kick. She yelled in pain as she hit the ground, puking out blood.

**"Iron Mountain Leaning." **Itachi raised an eyebrow once again as two Shinos came at him from his left and right. He simply grabbed each of their jacket as soon as they came close enough before lifting them up, and throwing them down hard on the ground, and then threw them into a tree. One Shino crumbled into insects, before disappearing. The other laid there knocked out.

"You're late Kakashi," said Itachi as Kakashi, along with Cat, Chiyo, Yamato, Hana, and Kiba came running in.

Kakashi looked at the down shinobi before facing Itachi. 'Something's not right,' thought Kakashi.

"Well then," said Itachi in an uncaring voice, "hopefully you'll give me more of a challenge."

"I'll give you a challenge alright!" screamed Kiba, who couldn't take it anymore.

"Kiba don't!" screamed Hana. But it was too late. Both Kiba and Akamaru, who transformed into an exact replica of Kiba, went towards Itachi. Itachi just looked as bored as usual. "Take this! **Gatsuga!" **Itachi just took another kunai before throwing it inside the raging tunnel. One Kiba came out of the technique, the kunai embedded in his shoulder. "Akamaru!" said the apparent real Kiba.

Itachi merely sidestepped out of range of the technique. A chirping sound made its way towards his ear. He silently cursed as he tried to dodge the infamous jutsu. **"Raikiri!" **Itachi grunted in pain as some of the electricity still managed to hit his right arm.

**"Water Style: Tearing Torrent!" **Itachi looked behind him as a vortex of water came from Yamato's left hand towards him.

**"Fire Style: Great Fireball!" **Even though the fireball was bigger, the water jutsu still prevailed, but it gave Itachi enough time to get out of the way of the jutsu.

His right arm was numb. He was barely able to do the seals for the fire jutsu, but it hurt like a bitch. He wouldn't be able to move it for awhile. 'Not like it matters,' he thought, 'I've bought more than enough time.'

'He's good,' thought Chiyo, 'looks like I'm going to have to get into this fight.'

Cat just held her sword steady, ready for anything. Yamato glanced at Kakashi, wondering what they were gonna do. Hana looked at her younger brother who was holding an injured Akamaru. It was his fault for rushing in. Akamaru didn't have a choice but to follow its master. But that didn't mean she didn't feel sorry for him.

Kakashi stared intently at Itachi's feet. He wasn't going to make the same mistake as two years ago.

But then they took notice of the mini sea that was slightly behind them. They noticed the fact that it was evaporating at an alarming rate.

'So Kisame was defeated,' reasoned Itachi. 'No more reason for me to stick around then.' "Well then, Kakashi," he said, making Kakashi turn his full attention to him once again, "it would seem our encounter has reached its end. Till we meet again." After that Itachi fell to the ground on his back, shocking the others. But then his face started to crumble away, and it showed another face.

"He's….!" said Chiyo.

* * *

><p>Itachi slightly opened his eyes on his real body.<p>

"So you're done also," said Kisame.

"Yes. But we've bought more than enough time." He closed his eyes once again, Kisame following.

* * *

><p><strong>"So you're finished," <strong>said Pain as he noticed their conscious return.

"Yes," said Kisame with a grin, "they won't be here for awhile."

Pain nodded. **"Good. And be careful. It would seem that you have company coming to your location."**

"Oh," said Kisame, genuinely surprised, "and who might that be?" Even though he didn't show it, Itachi was also curious.

**"Uchiha Sasuke." **Kisame chuckled. "That brat, eh? Should be fun…" Itachi just had his bored look. But on the inside he was surprised that his little brother found him so quickly.

**"And that's not all." **Kisame raised an eyebrow. **"It would seem that there's an unknown female Uchiha accompanying him."**

This time Itachi's eyes did widened.

* * *

><p>"It seems we have hostiles," said Karin.<p>

Sasuke narrowed his eyes before activating his sharingan.

Mikoto smirked once again. She, of course, sensed Zetsu back there and knew that he, or it…or whatever gender Zetsu was, would report it to the leader of the akatsuki. Why didn't she do something about it, you ask? Well, because she wanted to have some fun.

"How far, are they?" asked Sasuke to Karin.

"They're right up ahead," she answered. 'But one of them…his chakra it doesn't correspond with each other….' she thought to herself.

Indeed, a few more tree hops and in front of them were the 'Immortal Duo.'

"Finally!" said Hidan. "I'm sick of all of this waiting!"

"Calm yourself Hidan. We have a job to do," said Kakuzu calmly to his partner.

"Fuck that!" responded Hidan. "It's time I collect my sacrifices!" Kakuzu didn't say anything else to him. He just merely looked at the female uchiha. 'I wonder if she has a bounty…' hey, money was important.

Mikoto just stared at them with a bored look, similar to the one Itachi always wore. 'So is these two, eh? Well, I was kinda hoping their leader might of come, but I guess that was just silly thinking.' Her sharingan came to life.

Hidan grinned as he brought his triple-bladed scythe to his shoulder. Not only that, but he also brought a rosary out and started to pray. This got confused looks from everyone except Kakuzu. "This is no time to pray, you idiot."

Hidan glanced at him with one eye. "Hey, it's not like I like it either! But I got no choice in this!" he said irritated.

Kakuzu grunted before throwing his cloak off. "Well then, shall we begin."

Suigetsu grinned as he readied Kubikiribocho. "Fine by me."

"Karin, stay back," said Sasuke. Karin merely nodded.

Suigetsu and Kakuzu rushed straight at each other, Kakuzu being faster and punching Suigetsu right in the gut, before the area started to liquify. "Eh?" said Kakuzu, surprised. Suigetsu just grinned again as he swung the giant sword towards Kakuzu's face. Kakuzu merely blocked it with his hand. Suigetsu's eyes widened. 'He was able to block it with merely his hand! What is he?' Suigetsu then jumped upwards as Kakuzu threw a low kick, before liquifying his hands and bringing them around Kakuzu's neck, the giant sword falling on the ground.

"You think this is gonna work?" asked Kakuzu.

"Well I think it might," he said.

Juugo then went in, the curse mark starting to appear around his body, changing his right arm completely. "TIME TO KILL!" he screamed. Kakuzu's back started to move, before stitches pierced Suigetsu. "That's not going to work," he said cockily.

Kakuzu didn't say a word as Juugo's hit impacted, creating dust around the area.

Mikoto, Sasuke, and Karin just looked on.

"Ok, I'm done," said Hidan as he put his rosary away. He then took the situation in. "Oh, already started without me."

Once the dust cleared, Juugo's and Suigetsu's eyes widened at the fact that a dark thing with a mask stopped Juugo's punch.

"What is that?" asked Sasuke.

"Don't worry," said Mikoto, "it's not really that dangerous."

Then another thing came out of Kakuzu's back through Suigetsu, making him burst into water.

The thing's mask that was holding onto Juugo's hand suddenly opened. _**"Wind Style: Pressure Damage." **_thought Kakuzu. Juugo, who didn't know what was happening, was hit straight on. The jutsu caused a major explosion, making the others fall back.

"JUUGO!" screamed Karin.

'Heh,' thought Hidan, 'always showing off.'

"Ok, then," said Mikoto, "maybe they're a _bit _dangerous."

Sasuke just tried to see through the cloud of dust. "Is he alive?" asked Sasuke. Karin focused for a few seconds, before opening her eyes. She shook her head. "No, looks like he didn't make it," she said sadly.

Sasuke merely stood up.

Kakuzu came out of the smoke, unharmed. 'Well then, that's that.' He then took notice of Sasuke walking towards him. 'I should be able to get something for the brat,' he thought.

Hidan then appeared next to his partner. "This one is mine! You already took those other two!" Kakuzu didn't even pay attention to him.

"Is the other still alive?" asked Mikoto.

Karin nodded. "Yes. Suigetsu is just knocked out from the blast, but he's still alive." Mikoto nodded before joining her son.

Sasuke brought his sword out. "Which one do you want?" he asked his mother. "I'll take the Kakuzu fellow. You get the other one."

Sasuke didn't say anything. Hidan looked straight at him. Big mistake. "Let's g…." whatever he said was cut short as he soon found himself trapped by two white snakes. Sasuke's sharingan eyes staring right at him.

_**"Jagei Jubaku…" **_thought Mikoto, 'a great technique for capture.'

"WHAT IS THIS!" screamed Hidan as the snakes tightened their grip on him. "KAKUZU HELP ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Kakuzu didn't even move an inch. The next thing Hidan knew, his head was chopped off his body by Sasuke.

'That's not going to be enough,' thought Mikoto.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" said Hidan from the ground. Sasuke's eyes widened a bit, before going back to the emotionless look. "LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO ME!"

'Hidan won't be able to keep that up. It isn't his real body,' thought Kakuzu.

Sasuke just formed a chidori on his left hand. Hidan's eyes widened. "KAKUZU GET OVER HERE!"

**"Chidori." **Sasuke brought his favorite jutsu down on the head, destroying it.

'Well, that's over with,' thought Kakuzu to himself.

Mikoto just shook her head. 'If it weren't for that immortality of his, I don't think akatsuki would of ever recruited him,' she said to herself.

The body that once belonged to Hidan fell down, taking a different form. The skin color was a bit darker, and the body seemed more muscularly. 'If it weren't for the head gone, I could have find out if it were another person. Whatever, it doesn't matter. Now with this guy…'

Mikoto took out her own sword from her back. The two things stood next to him. 'Let's see what he's got…'

Both things rushed head on at her, but she did a split, making them go above her, before she headed to the closest, her sword covered in flames.

'She can infuse her element into her sword like Sasuke,' thought Karin, who was watching the fight from a safe distance.

Mikoto sliced the thing in half, the mask braking, but the other came behind her, opening its mask, shooting wind bullets at her. Mikoto, thanks to her sharingan, dodged them all perfectly, went towards the second thing intend on destroying it also.

Kakuzu came right in from her left. 'I can't let her take out another one of my hearts,' he thought. She dodged his first strike before jumping upwards, already completing a set of seals.

**"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"**

'Shit!' thought Kakuzu. 'Hopefully my **Earth Spear **will protect me from most of the damage!'

Mikoto landed a few feet away. 'So, the rumors about him having all the elements seem to be true.'

Kakuzu came out of the smoke, parts of his outfit burnt. 'That fireball was strong, stronger than Itachi's. I had already lost my water element, and now I lost the fire element as well,' he thought, 'that could have been a great counter against her fire attacks. Oh well, as long as I have my earth element, my **Earth Spear **should provide me with the protection I need.'

Mikoto tilted her head. 'That skin of his is providing him with a lot of protection….if I take that out the rest of this should be easy.'

She focused her sharingan, trying to find a weakness. She noticed something odd about his back. There the chakra seemed to be different, but not only that but the masks, they all seemed to be hearts….she smirked. 'So that's how he does it. He takes the hearts of shinobi with a strong affinity to each element, making him able to use that shinobi's strong element. But not only that, it allows him to live longer. Another fool trying to find immortality….'

The thing from before went at her, its mask once again opened.

**"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"**

Mikoto did something Kakuzu wasn't expecting. She did the same technique. **"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"**

The same jutsus clashed with each other, Mikoto's being weaker, but it allowed her the perfect time to do handseals. **"Fire Style: Flame Whirlwind!" **The wind mask who was still heading towards Mikoto, was destroyed by the jutsu.

'Damn,' thought Kakuzu, sweating lightly, 'I forgot that the sharingan can also copy jutsu. Obviously wind isn't her element, but it was the perfect distraction to allowing her time to do a technique that she's really suited for. And now I lost another element, not to mention the fact that I almost used up all of my chakra thanks to that earlier wind jutsu. I shouldn't have used it on a punk like that.'

Mikoto sighed. "Well, as fun as this has been we really need to get going." Kakuzu tensed. Whoever this woman was, she was dangerous and he knew it.

She then did handseals at an alarming rate. 'Her mastery of the fire element is really advanced,' he thought worriedly. As he was preparing to dodge since he didn't have any protection against her fire jutsus besides his **Earth Spear**, but even then it wasn't a total guarantee as he found out earlier the hard way, he noticed he couldn't move his legs. His eyes became frantic.

Mikoto smirked as she finished. "About time you noticed those ninja wires around your lower body."

"When did you set them?" he asked shocked.

"When you came rushing at me earlier."

'I didn't even know _how _she could have done it so fast.' he thought amazed.

"Till next time," she said happily. **"Fire Style: Goka Mekkyaku!" **The wall of fire headed towards Kakuzu, who decided to stop, giving up. The jutsu incinerated the body completely.

Sasuke, along with Karin, and an unconscious Suigetsu watched with wide eyes. Well Karin did, but Sasuke was still impressed nonetheless. 'Now if there was someone like her around for me,' thought Sasuke before he shook his head with wide eyes and a blush. 'What the hell! Did I just think _that_?'

Mikoto looked back at them. "Well then, lets get a move on!"

* * *

><p><strong>"Well did you succeed?" <strong>asked Pain.

Kakuzu shook his head. "She's beyond my level."

Hidan snorted. "You deserved that you piece of shit. Leaving me like that."

Kakuzu just ignored him.

**"Well, how far are they from Itachi and Kisame's location?"**

"Not very far," answered Kakuzu.

Pain looked troubled at that. **"The Konoha shinobi won't pose a problem for us, but this woman…"** He stopped there, but then looked at Itachi and Kisame. **"Stay on guard. She could be there any second."**

"Don't worry," said Kisame. "She won't be a pro-…." he was suddenly cut off as his digital image disappeared.

Pain looked angered at this. **"Itachi, what's happening!"** Itachi's image quickly followed.

"It would seem they have been found," said Sasori.

Pain just narrowed his eyes.

* * *

><p>"SHIT!" screamed Kisame, as he dodged both a flamed sword, as well as an electrified one.<p>

He jumped back next to Itachi. But there was something wrong with Itachi. What, you might ask? Well, the fact that his face was filled with shock, something no one had seen in over seven years, might be a good reason.

"K-k-kaa-san?" he said, unsure. 'Kaa-san?' thought Kisame.

Mikoto smiled. "Well, it's nice seeing you again, Itachi-kun."

Itachi could just stare at her in bewilderment.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Well hopefully you've enjoyed the chapter. And as you can see, things are heating up. But of course, this is just the first arc in my opinion, sort of like a prologue. And some of you might be wondering if I'm insane from saying that, but no, it's true. There's still a bunch of other shit that has to go down, characters that have to die, and so on.**

**I also want to say that I mix both english and japanese in the jutsu's names. It's just what I feel sounds better.**

**And I guess that's all from me this time. Oh, and REVIEW!**

**Later**


	14. Reunion

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beast, Summoning, jutsus, Black Zetsu or Pain<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13: Reunion<strong>

Itachi was a man of few words, or no words, if he were to choose. It wasn't that he was shy. No, far from it. The fact was that he got bored. Fast. His attention span was not that big, so the second he lost interest, well, he just wanted to get away from whatever, or whomever it was, less of all talk. Kisame being the exception considering they were partners. But he was still an interesting person, in Itachi's opinion, besides his bloodlust. He could make a conversation interesting, as well as any situation. So Itachi didn't really mind him that much.

But right now, the reason he didn't say a word was not because of boredom, oh no. It was because of shock. Right there, standing a few feet in front of him was his mother, the same person he thought he kill seven years ago, along with his father, as well as the rest of his clan, besides his little brother.

"Well you've gotten taller," said Mikoto with a cheeky smile.

Itachi just had his mouth opened.

"As nice as this is," said Kisame, irritated, "mind telling me who this woman is, Itachi?" he asked his partner.

"She's my mother," answered Itachi softly.

Kisame's eyes widened, before a soft grin broke out. "Heh, I thought you killed your entire clan…."

'I thought so too,' thought Itachi while gazing at his mother.

Mikoto shook her head while putting a hand on her hips. "Now, now, is this anyway to treat your mother? Am I going to have to _discipline _good manners into you again?" she said, amused.

Itachi paled, remembering her _discipline_ lessons. He involuntarily shuddered. Mikoto grinned slightly, noticing his shudder.

"How are you alive?" he asked, braking out of his stupor.

Mikoto had a sudden sense of deja-vu. "You shouldn't believe everything you see, Tachi-chan," she said, grinning like a madwoman.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. 'How…' he thought, 'I didn't sense any….'

Kisame was just enjoying staring at the small 'family reunion,' quite amused actually. This was the most emotions he had seen Itachi show in all the time they had been working together.

"Well then," began Itachi, "what are you doing here?" he then took a glance at Sasuke. "Are you here to take revenge as well?"

Mikoto t'sked, while shaking her head. "You really do underestimate me, don't you? Do you really think I don't know what _really _that night was all about?" Itachi's eyes widened once again. That had been happening a lot lately.

"H-how?" he asked, shocked.

"That doesn't matter right now," she said. "Right now you have to come back with us. I also know your real reason for joining akatsuki. And let me tell you, you're not protecting konoha."

Itachi's eyes were still wide. 'How does she know so much! And what does she mean I'm not protecting konoha….'

Mikoto could see her older son's questioning look. "I'm not going to answer your question," she said, answering his unasked question. Umm…in a way.

'Hmm…what am I going to do?' he asked himself. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wanted nothing more than to kill Danzo. He was the only person he ever hated. But the rest of konoha….

"What are you trying to do?" he asked her. Mikoto raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to destroy _all _of konoha? Not all are guilty…."

"What the hell are you talking about!" interrupted Sasuke. He couldn't stand seeing his brother trying to defend konoha. "They are all responsible! Going on about their lives, smiling, not caring about all that they did to the uchiha!"

Itachi looked at him. "Did what exactly? Don't forget, the village leaders are all the ones who made the decisions, not the villagers."

Sasuke was about to scream at him again, but Mikoto raised her arm, making him shut up, remembering their agreement.

Mikoto gave him a glance, before turning her attention to Itachi again. "What you say is true, in part. At first, all I wanted was to kill the elders, but things have changed."

It was Itachi's turn to raise an eyebrow. 'What is she talking about? Could it be….' "Are you talking about the civilian council." he asked her out loud. "You should know that they know nothing about the rebellion, just like the rest of the shinobi council."

Mikoto shook her head. "No, that's not it. The civilian council is just made up of fool, ignorant people. They know nothing," she said with hatred. Itachi once again raised an eyebrow at the visible hatred she had towards the civilian council. "You know about Uzumaki Naruto's disappearance, right?" she asked him suddenly.

Itachi nodded, not knowing what Naruto had to do with this. "Well then, you should also know that he plans on destroying _all _of konoha, not just the elders." Itachi's eyes, for what, like the third time or something, widened. Naruto? He wanted to destroy konoha? He was the last person that Itachi could think of that would want to destroy the village.

Mikoto sighed at her son's disbelieving look. "The uchiha massacre is not the only wrong thing that the village has done. If they could do this to us, what makes you think that they wouldn't do something similar to another clan?"

Itachi's eyes lowered slightly. "What are you talking about?"

Mikoto shook her head once more. "As I told you I can't discuss this here. There are unwelcome ears here," she said, glancing at Kisame. 'Not to mention the fact that Zetsu could be here. It wouldn't surprise me if he somehow could shield his presence better,' she thought to herself.

Kisame, who had been listening intently the whole time, made a disappointed face. 'Bummer,' he thought, 'and here I wanted to know a little bit more.' He then got ready to take Samehada out.

Itachi still wasn't convince. But he was curious. 'What could have happened?' he wondered.

Sasuke looked at his brother with a confused look. "Why would want to protect that village any longer? All they care about is themselves, thinking that they are the best on this planet, not worrying about who they have to destroy."

"He's right about that," said Mikoto. 'But we weren't that much better,' she thought to herself. "You've already done more than enough. That village will step over anyone. Even people they call allies."

"Enough of this!" screamed Itachi, making Kisame jump. Did Itachi just scream? "Just what are you talking about!"

"Well," began Mikoto, not fazed at his scream, "what if I told you that a person you cared about so much was betrayed, while being innocent and even dying to protect konoha?"

Itachi just narrowed his eyes. "Just what are you saying?"

"What I'm saying," said Mikoto, "is that Uzumaki Kushina, the person you admired the most, was also betrayed by konoha."

Itachi just stared at her.

* * *

><p>"What are we going to do now?" asked Sasori.<p>

**"We have no choice," **said Pain, **"but to continue. It will take longer, yes, but we have to finish."** He turned to Zetsu. **"What is their status?"**

"I don't know," began the white half, **"something is blocking us."** finished the black half. Of course, he lied.

Pain narrowed his eyes, not believing him. But there was still a chance the unknown female uchiha could have something up her sleeve, so he decided not to push the issue. **'Right now, the completion of sealing the one tails is what is important, and then we'll be one step closer to peace.'**

'Tobi will have to know about this,' thought white zetsu.

* * *

><p>"W-what did you just say?" asked Itachi, a look of disbelief.<p>

'Itachi admired her?' thought Sasuke, quite shock at finding that out. He never thought Itachi could look up to anyone. Guess he was wrong.

"I can't tell you anything more," said Mikoto. "Just come with us, sochi. You'll get all the answers you want, and you'll see that you've been protecting the wrong place."

Itachi was having an internal battle. Should he go? He had always looked up to Kushina, always admire how strong she was. She was also always there for him during the third shinobi war, helping him overcome the things he saw, when his mother couldn't. She was like an older sister to him. He was deeply saddened when he heard she died. But of course her son lived. He, of course, also knew who the father was. Which is why he helped Naruto during his childhood, his mother doing the same, both in secret, but she never knew that he did it also. At least that's what he thought. He had a suspicion that she did, but that wasn't something to ponder right now.

"So you're considering going?" asked Kisame, with an unreadable face.

Itachi turned to look at him. If he went with his mother….

"If you go," started Kisame, "you know what I'm going to have to do," he said with an emotionless voice.

'Could she be telling the truth?' he thought, taking a glance to try to read his mother's face. 'I sense no deception. I have to take the chance then…' He turned his attention back to Kisame. 'And if she is lying, I won't be able to return to akatsuki. But it doesn't matter. If Naruto-kun really wants to destroy konoha, and since he's not in konoha, akatsuki has no business there. But, the truth is all that I care about right now.'

"Yes I'm going," he finally answered him.

Kisame chuckled. "Well then, it was a pleasure working with you Itachi-san," he said genuinely.

Itachi smirked slightly. "Same here, Kisame."

Suddenly Kisame was behind him, Samehada coming down upon him.

Itachi turned into crows, making Kisame turn back bringing Samehada with him. The sword clashed with a kunai, Itachi being the owner. "Still fast as ever, eh Itachi-san?" said Kisame with a chuckle.

Itachi didn't say a word. Instead his sharingan changed. _**"Mangekyo Sharingan." **_Blood oozed out of his right mangekyo eye. **"Amaterasu." **The black fire hit Kisame right on, who screamed in agony.

'That easy?' thought Sasuke. Mikoto just stared at the fight.

The Kisame being incinerated turned into a puddle of water. Another Kisame came from behind Itachi, ready to strike him with Samehada. The sword hit him dead in the middle, slicing him in half. Itachi just once again turned into crows.

**"Fire Style: Great Fireball."**

**"Water Style: Water Bullet!" **Kisame turned around just in time to block the fire jutsu.

The techniques clashed, but Itachi continued to hold his jutsu, overpowering the water technique. Kisame cursed as his did the next set of seals as quickly as he could, the fireball getting closer.

**"Water Style: Water Wall!"**

Both techniques tried to push the other back. After a couple of seconds, it would seem the water wall would win. Itachi opened his right eye once more. **"Amaterasu." **

Kisame cursed again as his technique was burned.

'So amaterasu really does burn anything,' thought Sasuke.

'That does it,' thought Kisame. He brought his hands together, going through another set of seals at an amazing speed. Itachi narrowed his eyes as he went at him.

**"Water Style: Bakusui Shoha!"**

Itachi cursed as he saw the gigantic, emerging wave, Kisame riding on top of it, coming at him at an amazing speed.

'No choice,' thought Itachi. **"Susanoo." **Kisame grinned widely as he saw this. 'Time to go all out.' He jumped back, landing softly at his once again formed mini sea.

Thanks to his Susanoo that was at its final form, Itachi remained unharmed as he now stood on the calm water.

Mikoto, Sasuke, and Karin who was carrying an unconscious Suigetsu jumped out of the way. They were now standing on a tree branch of a high tree, too high for the water to reach. Sasuke was watching the fight intently with his sharingan, as well as Mikoto.

Kisame brought both his hand together in front of his face, starring at Itachi. "Looks like I finally get to go all out." Itachi didn't say a word.

**"Water Style: Senshokuko!"**

Itachi grinned as the thousand of sharks came at him. Kisame who was somewhere in between them was also grinning. Itachi' susanoo brought it's shield up. The sharks came with a large impact, pushing Itachi's susanoo back, as well as Itachi, but it held. Kisame jumped out of within the water shark he was in just in time to evade being squat by the shield.

In midair he brought his next technique out. **"Water Style: Dai Bakusui Shoha!"**

This time, instead of the huge amount of water flowing freely, it formed into a giant sphere of water, as well as combined with the earlier released water, making the sphere bigger and larger.

"That was close," muttered Karin as she stood outside the sphere, tired of carrying Suigetsu.

Mikoto and Sasuke didn't pay attention to her, instead focusing their sharingan eyes on the fight.

Itachi floated calmly within the sphere, his susanoo surrounding him completely. He looked around. 'Kisame is really going all out,' he thought. He suddenly took notice of movement to his left. He saw something coming at him at great speed. 'What is that?' he thought. 'Is that…a shark?'

The 'shark' rammed at his susanoo, but its shield held on. It came back again, and Itachi finally saw who it was. 'Is that…Kisame?'

_**"Water Style: Suiro Sameodori." **_thought Kisame as he rammed susanoo once again, only for it to hold once again.

'Give it up Kisame,' thought Itachi, 'nothing can brake my _**Yata no Kagami **_let alone attacks like that.' Suddenly he puked out blood, and coughed. 'Not good,' thought Itachi worried, 'I won't be able to hold susanoo for long. Not to mention I'm running out of oxygen.' His susanoo readied its sword.

Kisame prepared to head in for another ramming. 'C'mon,' he thought, 'now that I've combined with Samehada I should be able to break through that shield!'

As he went in at his top speed, he didn't take notice of the giant sword coming at him from his right. _**"Totsuka no Tsurugi." **_thought Itachi. Kisame grunted in pain as the sword stabbed him right in the middle of his stomach. He smirked. 'Thankfully Samehada still has some chakra left. I should be able to heal….' he suddenly stopped as he was pulled into the sword. 'What's happening!' he thought worried.

'Sorry Kisame,' thought Itachi, 'but this is the end for you. It was nice fighting you.'

Kisame could only scream as he was sealed away, Samehada along with him.

Mikoto smirked slightly as she watched the water sphere start to disappear. 'So it's over…' She was barely able to see anything, but thanks to her sharingan, she could tell Kisame was sealed into something. 'I'll find out later,' she thought.

Once the sphere disappeared entirely, they made their way towards Itachi, who was kneeled, his left hand covering his mouth, coughing.

Mikoto kneeled besides him. "Are you alright?" she asked him softly. Itachi nodded. "You better be telling the truth," he whispered to her. "Don't worry," she said, "it is the truth. But I don't know all the details."

Itachi looked at her questionably. "Naruto does," she answered his unasked question.

Itachi nodded, before standing up, Mikoto helping him. He then turned his gaze towards his little brother. "I have some questions," he said, before walking away, "but that will be for later."

Itachi could only stare at his back. "What now?" asked Karin. "Now," began Mikoto looking at her, "it's time to go back."

* * *

><p>Kakashi stared at his battered team as they set up camp to rest. 'I wonder how long we have left?' he thought.<p>

They could rest about five to eight hours, top. After that, they needed to move again. They had discovered that the ones they fought before weren't the real Itachi and Kisame. 'I thought I felt something strange,' thought Kakashi. The fact that Itachi hadn't use any of his mangekyo techniques was a big give away. At first he had thought it was because he didn't have to, which was partially true. But that Fireball was the real deal. The uchiha were the ones to create it and it was one of their most favored jutsu. 'Just what kind of jutsu was that?'

He turned his gaze towards his last loyal student, Haruno Sakura. She had been silent after her encounter with Itachi. He already knew what she was feeling, and he could sympathize. He then turned to look towards the sun that was disappearing over the horizon. How things change he reflected. When he took team seven, he never expected things to go the way they did. Well, he could guess that Sasuke would take the path he did, but it didn't mean that he enjoyed it. He had always worked with him, hoping to change his mind about revenge, and in turn he neglected his other two students. And then one of those two students also leaves the village, except for unknown reasons.

'Just what are your plans, Naruto?' he thought sadly. How he wished that he could go back in time to change all the wrong things he did about his team.

'I have failed you sensei,' thought Kakashi as a tear left his un-sharingan eye.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is accurate?" asked Jiraiya, his face completely serious.<p>

"Yes," answered Shizune, who was wearing her standard shinobi uniform, "Tsunade-sama got it straight from the sandaime's journal."

After finding the truth out and explaining everything to Shizune, Tsunade sent her on a top secret mission, which was to deliver the info to Jiraiya as soon as possible as she didn't trust a carrier bird for this kind of information.

Jiraiya sighed as he ran through his mind of everything that he just found out. He could never have imagined that his old sensei could have done what he did. But this was the shinobi world.

'Maybe it really is impossible for human beings to truly come together,' he thought sadly. He then turned his attention to Shizune. "What does Tsunade plan to do?" If she left, it could cause more problems that weren't needed at the moment.

At this, Shizune shifted nervously in her seat. "Right now, she doesn't know what to do. She's really angry at the elders right now. She's also wondering if this is why Naruto-kun left..."

Jiraiya sighed at that. 'Indeed, it sounds like a good reason,' thought Jiraiya, 'but how did he find out? And better yet, what does he plan to do with this information if he has it?' Jiraiya's heart sank at that question. Could Naruto really try to destroy the village? 'There's now way Minato's son could ever try to destroy the village,' he said to himself, trying to convince himself more than anything. 'Could he really?'

Jiraiya shook his head. This was just all too problematic! Ever since Naruto abandoned his training trip with him, nothing but problems seem to come.

"Shizune," he said, earning the younger woman's attention, "make sure Tsunade doesn't quit. This would be the perfect opportunity for Danzo, and that would create so many problems I'd rather not imagine."

Shizune nodded. "I'll try, but she really is angry. I don't know what I'll be able to do."

'She's right,' he thought, 'only Naruto would be able to get through her. But I don't even know where he is!' "Regardless you must somehow convince her," he said out loud. "Remind her of Danzo, that should help." 'She really hates him, so...'

Shizune nodded again. "Okay. I must head back now, Jiraiya-sama." With that, she walked out of the bar, leaving Jiraiya to his thoughts.

He gripped the cup he was drinking hard, almost braking it. 'Naruto, if you really know about this, then I don't what will happen...'

* * *

><p><strong>"Shinra Tensei!"<strong>

The technique destroyed all nearby training dummies, as well as the training room that it was used in.

Obito shook his head. 'He's got amazing determination. Not to to mention his almost unlimited stamina,' he thought, actually impressed as he watched the blond train on a nearby tree, laying down.

'Wow…' thought Yugito in awe. She was currently sitting on a giant rock, seeing everything through a window, not that there was a need anymore. 'That's one dangerous jutsu! But what kind is it?'

**"It's gravity manipulation," **answered Nibi seriously for once**, "only those who possess the rinnegan can use it."**

'What's the rinnegan?' asked Yugito to her tenant.

**"It's one of the legendary dojutsu that only one person ever possessed."**

'Who's that?'

**"The Rikudo Sennin."**

Yugito's eyes widened. 'I-I thought he was just a myth!'

**"He certainly isn't. It was because of him that I exist."**

'What do you mean?' asked Yugito, confused. But Nibi went silent after that. 'What could Nibi have meant by that?'

Down below on the now destroyed training room, Uzumaki Naruto looked at his handiwork.

**"Good job, brat" **congratulated Kurama, impressed at the blond's progress**, "you have now mastered gravity manipulation."**

'Thanks to shadow clones I'm advancing quickly,' thought Naruto with glee. 'I've already mastered two of the sixth paths already. But I still need to get to mastering the others, as well as your chakra, Kurama.'

Kurama h'mmd in agreement. **"What do you want to learn next?"**

Naruto thought for a moment. 'I remember you saying something about Yin-Yang release….'

**"Forget about it. That's something that's out of your range right now."**

Naruto sighed. 'I would ask why, but I'll do that some other time. I guess it's about time I get my contract together with the dragons.'

Naruto quickly went through the required seals, before bringing his right hand down. **"Summoning Jutsu." **

Once the smoke clear, the fire dragon that he battled not so long ago appeared once again.

Obito whistled. 'Nice summoning contract.'

Yugito stared at the dragon in amazement. 'Guess he succeeded after all. Amazing…'

The dragon gazed at Naruto, before bringing his head down to his eye level. **"About time you summoned me, young Uzumaki."**

Naruto nodded. "I think we should come into an agreement about our contract, dragon-san."

* * *

><p>Kurama watched the interaction within Naruto's mind. He was glad that he was finally out of that cage. He could now move freely. On another note, Naruto's training was progressing a lot faster than the earlier one. <strong>'Looks like combining with Dark Naruto really did help him, but also his anger towards konoha is a big factor that cannot be ignore. To have already mastered the <em>Tendo<em> and _Gakido_ paths in this amount of time is nothing but sure of amazing. Of course shadow clones also sped up the process. It won't take long now.'**

"Kyuubi," said Kushina as she walked into his chamber.

**"What is it?"**

"I've got a question for you," she said.

Kurama gave her a nod, giving her his ok.

Kushina stared at the floor before looking at him. "How is it that you know what happened to my clan?"

**'Perceptive, just as I imagined, well just like **_**she**_** did,' **thought Kurama. **"About time you asked."**

Kushina just stared at him. "Answer the question, will you."

Kurama chuckled. **"No need to get angry." **He then got serious. **"I'm not the one who discovered all of this. The only reason I found this out was because of someone who told me."**

Kushina became confused at this. "Who could have told you? You can't communicate with anyone except for your host."

Kurama nodded. **"Your right. Well partially, but that's beside the point. The one who told me was the one who I was sealed before you."**

Kushina's eyes widened. "You can't mean…"

Kurama nodded again.** "That's right. The one who told me, and planned all of this was Uzumaki Mito, my first Jinchuriki."**

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Yes it's me again. I just couldn't stop myself from posting this. And that's right, fucking cliffhanger.**

**Now I want to address certain complaints that have been raised.**

**The fact that Naruto is too 'dark' about trying to get revenge on the WHOLE village, who are innocent and had nothing to do with the village betraying the uzumakis, and that it was just the elders. That fact is actually right, but it's not complete. It's true that they had nothing to do with the uzumaki's betrayal, but they had everything to do with fucking up Naruto's childhood. Of course, Naruto could have cared lest about that, but when he found out his clan was betrayed, it was the last straw. He decided to just destroy the whole village, regardless if they didn't know anything about it. It's just exactly like Sasuke in the manga, the fact that no one knew about the truth about the massacre didn't matter to him.**

**Another one is about Kushina not doing anything to help Minato. She had just found out that the place she called home, betrayed her entire family. And you're right, Minato didn't know shit about that, but he caused their SON to go through hell when he was just a child! Well, we don't know if he was beat up or not, cause the manga doesn't really say, but we are pretty sure some beating had to occur. We just don't know to what extent. I mean, in my opinion that would caused anyone to re-think everything they once knew, as well as the people they thought they once knew. Minato should of known that the village wouldn't have seen Naruto as a hero. His wife was a fucking jinchuriki!**

**I'm also not going to kill any of the uchihas. Well, right now at least….**

**Also where Mikoto got the sharingan eyes will be explained.**

**And I'm only going to say this once: Naruto is the MAIN CHARACTER but there are still a bunch of other ones. You just can't concentrate on one of them. You have to have a bit of character development for all the characters. Everyone will play an important role. And as you can see, Naruto's back. But he's training isn't complete, far from it, but he's advancing REALLY fast, faster than before. That's because he wants to start his campaign as soon as possible.**

**About lemons….I don't know yet. I just don't know if I could write a good one. I mean I've read a bunch that were good, so I don't know if I could pull it off. But that's for future reference.**

**And I really do appreciate all the reviews. It tells me how I'm doing. So keep 'em coming!**

**Till next Time-Hood**


	15. Who's The Real Winner?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…."- Tailed Beast, Summoning, Pain or Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14: Who's the real Winner?<strong>

Tobi stared ahead, lost in thought. He was currently at the Valley of the End, where the legendary battle between Senju Hashiramu and Uchiha Madara took place. He was sitting on top of Madara's head, watching the waterfall, how the water fell to the river below.

'Things are preceding according to plan,' he thought. 'It won't be long for the war to start.' Of course, there were still things that needed to be done. But he was confident that they would occur.

"What is it?" he asked all of a sudden to no one. But then something came out of the ground next to him. "We have problems," said white zetsu.

Tobi glanced at him through the hole of his orange, spiral mask. "What kind of problems?"

**"There seems to be an unknown 'variable' that has contemplated things."**

Tobi turned his head fully at this. "Really? And what might that be?"

**"A female uchiha."**

Tobi's one visible sharingan eye narrowed. 'How? I'm positive that….'

**"But that's not all. It seems that she is Itachi's mother."**

Tobi's eye widened at this. 'Her! How could she be alive! I personally checked her body! She could ruin everything….'

"It also seems that Itachi has betrayed us, and killed Kisame."

Tobi clenched his hands. 'This is a mayor setback,' he thought in anger, and a little worriedly, 'I needed Itachi in order to get to Sasuke. But now that she has interfered, I don't know what's going to happen. Just what are her plans?' "What about the extraction?"

**"It will take longer since we have lost both Itachi and Kisame, but it's still underway."**

"What about konoha?" he asked them.

"They're not going to be a problem," answered white zetsu.

Tobi nodded as he stood up. "Then proceed with the extraction. After this, we shall see what to do with this new development." His visible sharingan flared.

* * *

><p>Kushina took a step back in shock. "W-what did you just say?"<p>

Kurama took her shock look to his private amusement before answering her. **"That's right, you heard me right. The one responsible for all of this is Uzumaki Mito."**

"H-how? How did she know!"

Kurama sighed as he crossed his paws together, and rested his head on top of them. **"I don't know. There are a lot of things that I don't know about her. This is one of them. We weren't on such friendly terms as I am with your son."**

Kushina looked at him with a cold look that even surprised Kurama. "Just what do you know? And don't lie to me."

Kurama chuckled. **"Scary." **Kushina didn't move a muscle. Kurama sighed at this. **"Alright. I'll tell you what I know." **He took a pause at this, gathering his thoughts. **"It happened all of a sudden," **he began, **"she just came to me one day. It was short before her death, which means that you coming to konoha had happened, or it was going to happen soon, as well as the attack on uzu."** He shook his head. **"It was strange. She seemed angry and sad. She then asked me a favor." **He chuckled at this**. "I was surprised. We never really had any chit-chats. The few times we did talk, it was all business. As you can imagine, I said no. She of course was expecting this. She then told me that if I did as she told me, I would have my freedom in the future, as well as what the Rikudo Sennin promised me."**

Kushina's face took a look of curiosity. "What did he promise you?"

Kurama shook his head. **"That's something that I will never tell you. Back to the topic at hand. Once she said that to me, I contemplated my options. I decided that I had nothing to lose, so I told her yes. Afterwards she told me all about the attack on uzu, as well as konoha not doing anything to help them, even after she pleaded with them. She also told me how she find out all about their plans on rebuilding the clan through you, who was also to become my second host."**

Kushina listened intently to all this, her hands clenching at that fact.

**"Why they didn't go through with it, I don't know. I also asked her how my freedom would come as well as the promise if there was a second host ready for me. She told me to be patient and that it would come." **He chuckled. **"I now know what she meant."** Kushina looked confused again, but he continued. **"She told me that I was to tell my third host how the uzumakis were betrayed."**

"WHAT!" screamed Kushina. She stared at kurama with wide eyes. "Why the third! Did she know that it was going to be my son!"

Kurama narrowed his eyes. **"I don't know. As I told you, we weren't on friendly terms. I couldn't feel anything outside thanks to her seal. She was a seal master, and she made sure that I couldn't feel anything of what was going on out there in the real world. She also kept her emotions checked very well, so I don't know what she did once I was sealed into her, except the few times when she came into her mind. Even then, I didn't feel anything outside. It infuriated me."**

Kushina sighed. "Why didn't she want me to know?"

Kurama shrugged, or what looked like a shrug. **"I don't know either. But what I do know is that she had to have had her reasons. Mito was a person who always had a reason for every action she took."**

Kushina rubbed her forehead. "This is so confusing…" Her head snapped upwards. "You mean to tell me you knew this whole time and never told me!"

Kurama h'mphed. **"We weren't exactly on friendly terms either, or have you forgotten? Especially how I was imprisoned on that rock with the spikes within your mind. I became angry again, and soon I forgot all about what Mito told me. It wasn't until Naruto decided to leave that I started to remember. It also fit perfectly in telling him about his father, and about you. And…"** he stopped there.

"And?" repeated Kushina.

Kurama sighed. **"And my wanting to destroy konoha. Of course Dark Naruto's influence also helped." **

Kushina shook her head. "I don't get it. She always told me that love was the best way to defeat you, as well as to find it. But if she hated the village, why tell me to find love in it!"

Kurama smirked. **"Oh, now I get it." **Kushina looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Get what?" **"Don't tell me you were never asked if you ever wanted to rebuild your clan?"**

Realization hit upon her. "Yes. The sandaime always asked me, telling me how proud I would make my clan if I did. I said yes, but only with Minato."

Kurama was still smirking. **"There's your answer. While it's true Mito hated the village, the Yondaime had nothing to do with the betrayal. She knew, even though she was angry, that your generation were innocent. She wanted you to fall in love with someone, which would then destroy any chance for the village to just set you up with someone. And she was also right about love defeating my influence. Now, if she knew that the Yondaime would screw with his son's life….well that I don't know."**

"They could have just forced me…." muttered Kushina.

**"True," **said Kurama, hearing her, **"there's a lot of things that I don't get about that place. I don't know just what was going on in their heads. Their actions contradict each other."**

Kushina rubbed her hands together. "Just what did Mito-sama know?"

**"I don't know," **answered Kurama, **"but I asked her what she was trying to accomplish with this."**

Kushina looked at him. "And what was it?"

Kurama smirked again. **"Revenge. She said to me that there would come a time when the uzumakis would have their revenge, and it seems she was right."**

Kushina's eyes widened. "You mean to tell me that she was talking about Naruto? And that she knew he would choose revenge?"

**"It seems so. She was old, and knew that she would die soon, even with the uzumaki's longevity. She said that at the end the uzumakis would have the last laugh, and that those who think of the future than the present are the real winners." **Kurama started to laugh as he finished.

Kushina could only watch as the tailed beast laughed.

* * *

><p>"So every dragon has different elements?" asked Naruto to Moukaryuu, having received the dragon's name.<p>

Moukaryuu nodded. **"That's right. Within time, you'll get to meet the other dragons and you'll choose which dragons suit you best. And remember that we only like to be summoned during battle situations, this being the exception. If not, it's likely that the summoned dragon will get irritated and will ask you to fight each other for retribution, unless you know him or her very well."**

Naruto nodded, understanding. "Alright, I understand."

**"And one last thing. Don't summon the head boss unless you have to, or until you're sure you're strong enough to take anyone."**

Naruto nodded again. "Don't worry, I got it."

**"Until next time, young Uzumaki." **Moukaryuu disappeared with that.

Naruto looked around the training room, or what was left of it. 'I guess I should find myself a new training area and master the rest of the paths. I also need to ask Kurama about me sharing vision with shadow clones. I could use that to my advantage….'

He walked back inside, intent on finding a new room to train in.

Obito shook his head from his spot. 'He's going to destroy another room….'

* * *

><p>After 5 minutes of watching a giant fox laugh, it got annoying. Kushina's eye twitched at Kurama, who was still laughing. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "Would you stop already!" she screamed.<p>

Kurama wiped his eyes with one of his tails, chuckling silently. "Just what is so funny?" asked Kushina.

Kurama finished wiping his eyes, then turned them towards Kushina. **"Sorry. I just find this whole situation amusing. I always thought that the uchihas were the only ones capable of causing destruction to this level or holding grudges."**

Kushina narrowed her eyes. "If you're whole clan is betrayed like that, anyone would," she said darkly.

**"You have a point, I guess. Oh, there's one final thing."**

Kushina looked at him worriedly. "There's more to this mess?"

Kurama chuckled again. **"In a way. I guess this will give us all the answers we need. Mito told me once my third host was ready, to tell him or her that she left him or her all the information he or she was going to need."**

"Where?"

**"She said she left instructions inside the Shodai's face on the Hokage Stone Face Monument, and that only an Uzumaki could find it."**

Kushina looked down. "So she knew, somehow she knew that my child would be your third jinchuriki."

Kurama kept silent at that. Kushina looked back up. "The question is-HOW?"

As he was going to say something, Kurama felt a pull. **"It seems he wants to continue."**

"When are we going to tell him?"

Kurama eyed her. **"When he's done with his training, I will. The only reason I told you was because you got suspicious. That's the only reason. Now, if you excuse me."**

Kushina just walked out of the chamber, questions plaguing her mind.

* * *

><p>The last twelve hours had been tensed within the akatsuki hideout. With the disappearance of both Itachi and Kisame, it had taken longer to extract the one tails, but at last it was almost finished.<p>

**"They're here," **said black zetsu.

**"It does not matter," **said Pain, **"they are too late. The extraction is complete." **As he said that, the last of the chakra of the one tails was absorbed, Gaara falling to the ground.

"Well that sure took a while," said Kakuzu.

**"Yes it did," **agreed Pain, **"but now we have the one tails."**

"What about our guests outside?" asked Sasori.

**"They are of no importance," **answered Pain, **"Sasori, Deidara, you are to retreat and wait for new set of orders."**

"What?" said Deidara shocked. "You want us to retreat, hmm?"

**"That's right. We have no time to waste on them." **After everything that had happened, Pain's patience was running thin. **"Deidara, you are not to argue with me on this? Do you understand?" **he said coldly.

Deidara bit his tongue, knowing it would end bad for him if he argued.

Pain nodded as he saw this. **"Good. After you're finished, we shall meet for our next move."**

He disappeared, Konan following along with him, and zetsu. "Well then," said Kakuzu, before he disappeared too. Hidan left without another word. Sasori, and Deidara jumped off the statue as it disappeared back into the ground.

"I can't believe this," began Deidara as he sat on Gaara, "having to retreat on them, hmm."

Sasori grunted, but didn't reply. Deidara continued, not noticing his partner's lack of interest. "Are we even sure they could get in, hmm?"

Sasori just stared at the entrance.

* * *

><p>"Are we ready?" asked Kakashi.<p>

"We're all in position," came Guy's voice from the intercom.

"Alright then," said Kakashi, "on my signal." He took a pause. "NOW!" He ripped the seal on the boulder at the same time with Guy, Lee, Tenten, and Neji.

Sakura went in fast, bringing her fist forward. **"CHA!" **The boulder shattered into pieces, making the entrance clear. Team 10, 8, the three anbu, along with Kakashi, Sakura, and Chiyo entered.

"Seems I was wrong, hmm," muttered Deidara.

'Sasori,' thought Chiyo as she looked at the puppet Sasori was in, Hiruko.

'We're too late,' thought Kakashi as he noticed the kazekage's body on the ground.

"Well then," began Sasori, "as much as we would love to play with you, we have things to do."

Deidara grinned as his clay was completed. "As much as I hate to agree, Sasori my man is right." The konoha shinobi tensed as the clay bird appeared. Deidara jumped on it. "Until next time."

"We can't let them escape!" screamed Kakashi.

**"Gatsuga!" **Deidara's clay bird dodged both Hana and Kiba, flying away out of the hideout.

'Damn,' thought Kakashi.

"I take it you're not going to let me go willingly?" said Sasori, mainly to his grandmother.

"Now why would I do that?" said Chiyo as she stepped forward. "After all, I finally get to see my grandson after all these years. Although, it would be better if I could talk to you face to face instead of some puppet."

Sasori just grunted again. 'They're not going to let me out of here unless I defeat them. Guess I don't have a choice.' "Well then, I suggest we get started. I don't like to keep people waiting."

"Lady Chiyo, what do we need to do?" asked Kakashi as everyone readied themselves.

"We first need to destroy that puppet," answered Chiyo. "But we need to be careful. We don't know just what weapons he has hidden in it, and not to mention any kind of poison he's got."

Kakashi nodded, his headband already uncovered.

"You guys stay back," he said to the rookies present. The jonins, Chiyo and the anbu members stepped up. Sakura clenched her fists, but stayed put. She wasn't stupid.

Hiruko's mouth opened. "Now!" screamed Chiyo.

**"Shikomi Kugutsu: Shinshin Happa."** The waves of needles made their way towards the shinobi, the shinobi doing their best to dodge every needle. The rookies were even forced to dodge a few, if barely.

The barrage lasted about a minute, until it finally ended. The shinobi stay put, Kakashi silently signaling the others.

Yamato brought his hands down. **"Mokuton: Jubaku Eiso!"**

'Oh?' thought Sasori as the pillars of wood surrounded Hiruko, trapping it. 'Trying to bring me back alive, huh?' He brought Hiruko's tail out, destroying the wood.

**"Raikiri!" **Screamed Kakashi as he came from Sasori's left. Sasori brought Hiruko's tail to block it. It held for a couple of seconds before it was destroyed.

**"Gatsuga!"** Sasori had not time to block the Inuzuka's most favorite jutsu.

"They did it!" scream Kiba.

A blur moved out of the debris, landing softly behind the now destroyed puppet. "I've waited so long for this moment. I want to see my grandson's face."

"It seems I underestimated you," said Sasori softly, "but it will not happen again." He threw off his cloak. "Well, shall we continue." Chiyo's eyes, as well as everyone else's widened at the face they were staring at. It was one of a fifteen year old.

"How is this possible?" muttered Yugao.

Chiyo merely narrowed her eyes. Sasori brought a scroll out of his akatsuki cloak. "I shall now show you my favorite puppet in my collection." With a puff, a familiar face appeared before Chiyo's eyes. "That's the Sandaime Kazekage! Sasori, so you were the one responsible!"

Sasori chuckled. "That's right. I was the one killed him. I needed him, and he's made such a nice addition to my collection."

"The Sandaime kazekage," muttered Yamato, "didn't he go missing?"

Chiyo nodded. "That's correct. He disappeared shortly after the war, and it would seem Sasori has killed him, turning him into a human puppet." Two scrolls appeared in her hands. "Everyone stay back. This is my fight."

Sasori eyed the scrolls, reading the kanji for 'mother' on one of them, and 'father' on the other. Realization came upon his eyes. "So you brought them."

"So you recognize these," said Chiyo.

"They will do you know good. I know every tricks on those puppets, I created them after all."

With a similar puff, the two puppets appeared. "We shall see about that." Both the puppets went towards the kazekage puppet at great speed. A katana appeared on the mother's hand, a wooden whip filled with kunai on the father. The kazekage blocked both with retractable blades, covered in poison. The father went upwards, with the mother hold her own with the blades. The kazekage pulled back, blocking the whip from the father.

'I don't have time to waste here,' thought Sasori. Sand came out of the puppet of the Kazekage.

'That's…!' thought Chiyo.

**"Satetsu Shigure!" **The hardened iron sand bullets went at Chiyo at a great speed, hitting her dead on, creating a cloud of dust.

"Lady Chiyo!" screamed Sakura. She made to run forward, but Kakashi stopped her. "Don't be reckless! This battle isn't over yet!"

Once the cloud disappeared, the father puppet was seen kneeling in front of her, protecting her. Sakura sighed in relief.

"I see…" muttered Sasori. 'Well then, how about this,' he thought.

_**"Satetsu Kesshu!" **_The iron sand began to compress, forming into a rectangle, and a triangle, almost like a sphere. "Well Granny," said Sasori, "now you lost one of your puppets. How are you gonna dodge this!" The two objects made toward Chiyo, who was looking desperate at this point.

'That does it,' thought Kakashi. "We're helping her!'"

Sakura went in, punching the objects up to the roof. Kakashi's eyes widened, and so did everyone elses, except for Sasori. 'That was fast!' thought Kakashi.

Sasori narrowed his eyes. 'Oh great, more pests.'

**"Fire Style: Haisekisho!" **

The objects pulled out from the roof, going downwards, shielding Sasori in time. Asuma pulled out his chakra knives, reading himself.

"Are you alright, Lady Chiyo?" asked Sakura.

"Yes, thank you for your support," said Chiyo.

"Sakura look after her," said Kakashi. Sakura nodded.

"We're here to back you up sensei!" said Choji.

"Don't let your guard down," said Asuma seriously.

"We know," responded Shikamaru.

"We'll go in first," said Asuma to Kurenai, who nodded.

'Enough of this,' thought Sasori, tired of their conversation. **"Senju Soba!"**

The arms made their way towards team ten quickly, making them dodge. Kiba was about to jump in, but Hana put a hand on his shoulder. "Remember that Akamaru hasn't fully healed. Don't go making stupid decisions again." Kiba quietly nodded.

"Now!" said Kakashi.

Yugao went in from Sasori's rear. **"Mikazuki no mai!" **Sasori quickly brought his **Kyodai Tettsui**, leaving no opening. Yugao cursed as her sword hit the iron sand, shattering it into pieces. The pyramid then went in for a counterattack.

**"Mokuton: Daijurin!" **Sasori cursed as the wood spikes made their way towards him, prompting him to block again. 'This is getting annoying,' he thought.

"Are you alright?" asked Yamato to Yugao. She nodded. "Thanks. But that iron sand is really strong. It shattered my sword!" Yamato nodded. It was not looking good.

Team ten were still evading the arms coming from the third kazekage. Choji couldn't keep up, and was impaled on his left leg. "Choji!" screamed Shikamaru. Asuma cursed at the sight of one of his students injured form.

"Asuma go!" said Kakashi. "I got your back!" Asuma nodded as he headed towards his student.

**"Fire style: Gokakyu!"** The fireball went straight at Sasori, but it wasn't the only thing.

**"Earth Style: Doryuso!" **said Yamato.

"Huh," was all that Sasori had to say as the fireball and earth spears impacted. As Asuma reached his student, ninja wires rapped around him from the arms. 'Crap!' he thought.

"I got you now!" screamed Sasori from behind his iron sand protection. Both Asuma and Choji were blasted with air filled of poison. "NO!" screamed Shikamaru. **"Kage Nui!" **The shadow attack headed at Sasori who shook his head. 'When are they going to learn.'

The shadow attack didn't reach far however, thanks to Sasori firing more condensed iron sand at him, making him dodge and lose his concentration. One scraped through his left shoulder however, making him hold his shoulder in pain.

"Well then," said Sasori as he looked at the gathered shinobi, "two of you are dead. Want to continue?"

Kurenai was close to tears, her pride as a kunoichi preventing her from exploding. 'Asuma, you can't….'

"I suggest we rap this up." The arms retracted back towards the puppet, only leaving two emotionless bodies. The sand began to change as well, making the rest tense. **"Satetsu Kaiho!" **Kakashi's eyes widened as he saw the sphere began to form. "Everyone down!"

The spikes impacted, making everyone go blind. As everything became clear, Kakashi looked around. "Kakashi-sempai," said Yamato from his right as he, and Yugao came into view.

Kakashi nodded to them. 'Seems like I'm going to have to use it,' he thought, gathering his chakra.

"Thank you Shino-kun," said Hinata softly as she and Shino were protected thanks to his bug. He nodded at her before looking around.

"Lady Chiyo," muttered Sakura.

"I'm going to use them," said Chiyo.

Sasori looked around the destroyed hideout, before jumping away from a shadow. Shikamaru concentrated as he followed through with his attack. 'Now is my chance!'

"Learn your place!" said Sasori as he send the kazekage at him. Just as the blades were going to connect, they were blocked by mother's katana, braking it. Sasori quickly followed through with his attack, destroying the puppet immediately, but it gave Shikamaru enough time to jump away.

Sasori turned his attention to his grandmother, and the puppets that were gathered around her.

"Oh my," he said,"are those what I think they are?"

**"Shirohigi: Jikki Chikamatsu no Shu," **answered Chiyo.

"A fine collection they are," said Sasori, praising them. "But the iron sand will rendered them useless!"

The iron sand began to form into the battle objects once more. "Sakura, lets go!" Sakura who stood at her side nodded. She alongside with the puppets, ran forward. Sakura punched aside the sand objects again, going straight for the kazekage puppet. It brought out it's retractable blade once more, but one of the puppets, the one with red buns, blocked the blades, braking them in half.

Sasori's eyes narrowed, intent on bringing the puppet back but had to dodge bombs from another one, and going on a mini taijutsu fight. It gave Sakura the opening she needed as brought her fist back, bringing it down upon the puppet, shattering it into million pieces on the ground.

'No,' thought Sasori as he blocked a kick, jumping back.

Shikamaru went to check on Asuma and Choji. "How are they?" he asked Ino. "Not good," she answered, "Choji's lost a lot of blood, and sensei has been hit with the poison."

"Wait, not Choji?" he asked her. Ino shook her head. "Sensei must of covered Choji somehow, but the poison is all inside of him now. It doesn't matter, if Choji looses any more blood…."

Shikamaru nodded. 'This can't drag on much longer…'

_**"Mangekyo Sharingan"**_ thought Kakashi. "Sempai, what is that?" asked Yamato. "My new weapon," was the response he got.

'Looks like I'm going to have to bring them out,' thought Sasori.

As he was about to take his akatsuki cloak off, he evaded a punch from up above, which belonged to Sakura. 'If I get hit…' He was caught up trying to evade that he didn't notice what his grandmother was up to.

**"Fuinjutsu: Shishi Heiko!"**

'Shit!' He was strapped to the cave wall, his chakra sealed away. 'Damn, I was so caught up on the little girl that I forgot about the old hag!'

Chiyo panted, having used a lot of chakra. "It seems this is the end, eh grandson?" Sakura next to her was panting as well.

Kakashi, Yugao, and Yamato appeared behind them. 'Is it over?' thought Kakashi.

Sasori smirked. "Seems like I was defeated by a measly tactic. As experts, one sometimes tends to forget about the basics, which can cause fatal mistakes on the battlefield, just like it happened to me. But…" smoke started to appear, "as an expert, one always has a backup plan up his sleeve!"

'This smell,' thought Kakashi. 'We won't make it in time! No choice, then…._**Kamui!'**_ The explosion would have been massive, but Kakashi's kamui absorbed most of it.

'What is this jutsu?' thought Chiyo. The others present were equally amazed. Kakashi panted as he fell down on the ground. 'Seems like it was a good choice to go mangekyo after all…'

"Look at his body," said Sakura, bringing their attention to Sasori's body. 'So that explains it,' thought Chiyo looking at the body, 'he turned himself into a puppet.'

"Kakashi-sensei!" said Hinata as she and Shino who carried an unconscious Kurenai with his bugs came into view. "Everyone else is outside!"

Kakashi nodded, his sharingan going back to normal as he covered it with his headband. "Shall we go outside?"

* * *

><p>"Seems like it's over….."<p>

**"Indeed. And it also seems that Sasori was done in."**

"That makes three members already…."

"It doesn't matter," said Tobi as he appeared via his teleportation technique. "Sasori accomplished what was required of him. Once they leave we shall collect his ring. And then I will take his place."

**"Oh,"** said black zetsu in surprise**, "you're going to join?"**

Tobi nodded. "Yes. It is necessary."

* * *

><p>"How are they?" asked Kakashi.<p>

"I don't know Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura sadly, "Choji will probably make it, but I don't know about Asuma-sensei."

Kakashi nodded.

Guy looked at the ground. "If only that trap hadn't held us up, we could've…."

"It's alright Guy, we did all we could."

"What about the kazekage?" asked Tenten. "I mean, he's dead, so we failed."

"I'll revive him," said Chiyo from her spot. The others looked at her crazy. "It will be the one right thing that I will do in my life….." She looked at Sakura, remembering their conversation the night before.

**Flashback:**

"You seem sad." Sakura turned her upwards to see Chiyo standing there. Then she registered her question and nodded. "May I ask why?"

Sakura sighed. "I don't want to bored you." Chiyo chuckled. "Believe me child, the last thing that could happen right now is boredom." Sakura scooted to the side from the spot she was sitting on, giving Chiyo room. "Now will you tell me?" she asked again.

Sakura looked at her hands on her lap sadly. "Well it all begins when I became a part of team seven. I was happy, since I was with my crush, Uchiha Sasuke. And then there was also my other teammate who at the time I didn't really think much of and seemed to have a crush on me, Uzumaki Naruto." Her face took one of happiness. "Those were the best times of my life. We became a team, friends, family. It was really amazing. I wanted for things to stay that way forever, but just the opposite happened." Her face turned sad as she continued. "Kakashi-sensei nominated us for the chunnin exams. At first I was frightened, but then I became determined to not be left behind by my teammates. I also figured that it would just be another adventure for us."

"And it became the opposite?" guessed Chiyo.

Sakura nodded. "Yes. During the second portion of the exam, we encountered the man that split all of us up-Orochimaru."

"You fought against Orochimaru when you were just gennin?" asked Chiyo shocked.

"That's right. Of course, if he had been serious we would have died, but he was after Sasuke-kun. He defeated both him and Naruto like they were nothing! And then he put a strange mark on Sasuke-kun which I then found out to be called the curse mark." Sakura buried her face in her lap as she continued. "It all went downhill from there. We continued with the exam, and we managed to pass to the third round. Well, Sasuke-kun and Naruto did. After that the finals took place, and they both returned stronger than I had ever seen them. Once the invasion was all over, I thought that maybe things would change, but they didn't. Somehow Sasuke-kun fought with his older brother and lost, and he was put in a coma. Thankfully Naruto managed to find Tsunade-sama and brought her back. After he woke up, Sasuke-kun became even darker than usual. On one mission, he was hospitalized and then challenged Naruto to a fight. They fought, but it was like they were trying to kill each other. I couldn't stand to see that so I blindingly got in between their fight."

"Were you hurt?"

"No," answered Sakura," thankfully Kakashi-sensei managed to stop it. But then things became even worst. Sasuke-kun left the village. Naruto and a group of our friends went after him, but they failed to stop him. After that, I decided to stop playing around and I needed to start my training seriously. So I became Tsunade-sama's apprentice, and Naruto left to go train with Jiraiya, the Toad Sennin."

Sakura became even more sad as she reached this point. "What happened?" asked Chiyo.

"Naruto, he, for some reason he also left the village while he was on the training trip."

"I see," said Chiyo. She turned to look at the campfire. "And now you want to reunite with your teammates," she said after awhile.

Sakura nodded. "Yes, I just want us to go back to being teammates. Just like we were before."

Chiyo smiled sadly. "Child, I do hope that your dream comes to happen. I really do..."

**Flashback:**** END**

Chiyo smiled sadly once more. 'I really hope it happens, Sakura, I really do.'

* * *

><p>"YES! SUCCESS! TOTAL SUCCESS!" A man in an underground laboratory could be seen laughing madly as he gazed at the contents within the tube.<p>

"Soon, I shall have what I desire. Yes, I can see it now," he said looking like a mad man, which wasn't really that far from the truth.

He readjusted his glasses. "Yes, I will became the best in this world, surpassing even the Rikudo Sennin!" he started to laugh once more.

* * *

><p><strong>YO<strong>

**How's it hanging people? Enjoying yourselves?**

**I got an important announcement to make: I got my first hater! That's right, someone openly said that I'm a dumbass cause Naruto didn't return from his training trip weak, and…well you can see it on the reviews yourself. And if some of you think that I sound happy cause of this, then that means I have issues to work out….whatever.**

**Also Kankuro wasn't poisoned, he was just beat badly. Forgot to mention that earlier.**

**Well hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Not that much else to say. And REVIEW!**

**Later**


	16. The Next Move

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beast, Summoning, Black Zetsu, or Kushina<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15: The next Move<strong>

"You have some explaining to do."

Tobi sighed. "And what might I have to explain to you? I thought everything was clear?"

"How about the fact that there's another uchiha alive!" screamed Pain in his Tendo body. He was not happy at the moment. No, he was downright pissed! After what had happened during the sealing with the one tails, you couldn't blame him. Akatsuki was down three members, just for one tailed beast! Of course, they now had four beasts in their possession in total and since they hadn't lost any members in capturing the others, it could be called even. But that didn't make up about the unknown uchiha woman.

Tobi sighed again. "I didn't know anything about her. Believe me, if I did, I would have killed her already."

Pain calmed himself. There was no need to get worried about that woman, he rationalized. He was a god, after all. "So, then what are we gonna do about her?"

"Nothing. She will come to us."

Pain became confused. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Tobi chuckled. "You don't have to worried about the details. All you have to worried about is when she does come, then make sure to kill her. Got it?"

Pain merely nodded. "Good. Now tell the rest of the members to hurry. We have to capture the remaining tailed beasts as soon as possible." He disappeared after that.

"Pain," said Konan from one of the corners, "something is not right about this."

"I know," he said.

Konan walked up to him. "I don't trust that man. I always have this feeling that he's hiding something."

Pain just stared outside towards the city, where rain began to fall.

* * *

><p><strong>"Well?"<strong>

"They're starting to suspect something," answered Tobi.

They were currently inside the now destroyed akatsuki hideout, debris of the cave of the roof lying everywhere. "Are you sure Pain will be able to handle her?" asked white zetsu.

"Yes. Just because Kakuzu wasn't able to handle her, doesn't mean that she's that powerful. All we have to do now is wait for her to come to us," he said as picked up Sasori's ring, putting it on one of his fingers.

**"What makes you so sure that she will come after akatsuki? She hasn't shown any interest in the organization."**

Tobi chuckled. "She has no interest in akatsuki, that is true. But she does have an interest in me, once Itachi tells her that is."

**"So she'll come after you."**

Tobi nodded. "That's right. And then she will be killed. The only downside to this is that now I won't be able to use Sasuke."

"Oh? Is that really such a problem?"

Tobi shrugged and stood from the rock he was sitting on. "I don't know yet. I guess only time will tell. We'll see how things turn out from this point on."

**"And what about the kyuubi jinchuriki?"**

Tobi sighed. "Yes, that's another problem. What's his location?"

"We don't know," said white zetsu, "last we heard he was in kumo."

"Oh?" Tobi became interested at that. "And what was he doing there?"

"Apparently he was discussing something with the raikage, but we don't know what. It seems he's not telling the details of the meeting to anyone."

"No matter. Did you manage to plant one of your clones on Itachi? Or any of them?"

"No. We were barely able to hid ourselves to see what had happened."

Tobi started to walk out of the old hideout. "That's a shame. But I guess I should focus on capturing the remaining tailed beasts for now."

**"And the kyuubi?"**

"Naruto will be captured." His visible sharingan spun. "I'll make sure of it."

* * *

><p>"AAHHH!" screamed a random iwa shinobi.<p>

"Perfect..." muttered the man.

As he stepped into the light his face was revealed, one very ugly snaky face. Yakushi Kabuto grinned at the sight before him. A four iwa chunnin team laid in front of him, all knocked out, and barely alive. 'This is perfect,' he thought, 'now that I have absorbed Orochimaru-sama's power, there's no one that will stop me! Not even Sasuke-kun...'

He took a scroll out and sealed the bodies away. 'They will be of use later, but right now I have to collect more bodies, and iwa is being really helpful with that. That old fool really is too arrogant. He's already lost both of his jinchurikis. I guess he now wants to lose his own shinobi.'

Kabuto laughed as he walked away.

* * *

><p>"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't leave this god forsaken place!" screamed Tsunade in rage. Jiraiya mentally patted himself in the back for putting silencing seals before the conversation began.<p>

"Danzo! That's what," he said in a calm tone. "You and I both know that he would use this opportunity to become hokage and do god knows what!" After finding out what Tsunade had discovered, he came back as soon as he could, well after consulting with the remaining of his spy network.

"And why should I care! This place basically betrayed my entire family!" she screamed again. She wanted nothing more to just leave the village and never come back, to never see it again.

Jiraiya sighed. "Tsunade, you have to calm down and think things through before you do them. If you leave, it will have major consequences, and you know it!" his voice rising a bit.

Tsunade t'sked as she sat back down in her chair. She knew he was right, but she was too pissed at the moment to care. "And we both know that you shouldn't blame the whole village for what happened," continued Jiraiya. "It's the elders and sensei who are at fault here."

Tsunade took a deep breath in, trying to calm herself. After a few seconds, she spoke. "I suppose you're right." She then held the journal up. "But I found a lot of new information. There are some more interesting things here."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "Really? Like what?"

Tsunade opened the book. "Well for starters, it seemed like Sarutobi-sensei was starting to get suspicious of my grandmother."

Jiraiya raised another eyebrow. "Uzumaki Mito? Why would he be suspicious of her?"

Tsunade flipped through some pages and answered him. "It seemed that she was taking a lot of trips out of the village after uzu fell, as well as investigating a lot of the village's underground networks. She also became more cold to everyone."

"That's indeed strange," said Jiraiya as he sat on one of the chairs in front of the desk, "the attitude change I could understand, but why was she taking trips for? Or investigating the underground networks for?"

Tsunade sighed and put the book down. "I don't know. I didn't really pay that much attention to her, since I was dealing with my own problems. But there's more."

"More?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, but this deals with Kushina. It seems that they were trying to rebuild the Uzumaki clan through her."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. He had care for Kushina deeply, and came to respect his apprentice for choosing a good woman to spend the rest of his life with. "And? Why didn't they?"

"You know how sensei was already looking for a successor, right?" At Jiraiya's nod, she continued. "Well you also know how Minato was already being taken into consideration." Again Jiraiya nodded. His apprentice had been a rare genius. Coming beyond genin level by the time he graduated the academy, he had been admired by many of his fellow genin. The war just proved that he was indeed worthy. "When sensei found out that Kushina had fallen in love with Minato, he deduced that any children they had would become powerful and would protect the village, as well as produce more children and continue the uzumaki line, Minato's genes improving it. He decided that this would work out better, since he knew that when female jinchurikis give birth there's a chance that the tailed beast could escape, just like with my grandmother."

Jiraiya understood. "Of course. That way there was less of a chance that the kyuubi would brake free and the village got a powerful clan as well!"

Tsunade nodded. "Exactly. Kushina's strong attitude to not being with anyone else besides Minato helped as well. And since it presented a better solution, sensei didn't try to change her mind. Or force her…" the last part was said darkly. Tsunade hated the sandaime at the moment, more than anything else, as well as the elders.

Jiraiya sighed. "This is really a complicated mess."

Tsunade spoke again. "Jiraiya, if Naruto ever found out about this…."

Jiraiya nodded. "I know, I've been thinking about that fact as well. We also can't ignore the fact that he might of have left because he somehow found out about this."

Tsunade stood up. "But how!"

Jiraiya shook his head. "I don't know. Of course, I might be wrong and he might of left for another different reason."

Tsunade sat down again. "There's also another troubling matter."

"There's more?" said Jiraiya with a tired voice.

Tsunade nodded. "Unfortunately yes. But this time, it deals with the uchiha clan."

"The uchihas?" repeated Jiraiya.

"That's right. Apparently the massacre was just a cover up for something bigger. A lot bigger."

"What is it?"

Tsunade brought her hands together in front of her face. "The uchiha clan were planning a coup."

Jiraiya's eyes widened. "But that's impossible! They might have been arrogant but they would never do something like that!" At Tsunade's serious look, he faltered. "Could they?"

Tsunade sighed, and nodded. "Yes. They couldn't stand the fact that they were losing power. They were desperate and they thought that a coup was the only way."

Jiraiya rubbed his forehead. "And how did sensei found out about this?"

"Sensei and the elders had planted a spy within the clan. I presume you have already guessed who it was?"

"Itachi…." said Jiraiya in a whisper.

"That's correct. Itachi told them exactly what the uchihas were planning. Danzo of course wanted them to be eliminated, but sensei wanted to reason with them. In the end, though, it seemed that there was no choice but to wipe them out."

"But what about Sasuke?" asked Jiraiya. "Why did Itachi spare him?"

"I don't know. Itachi did ask sensei to watch after him, and to never tell Sasuke the truth."

Jiraiya shut his eyes. "This is great! He's already after Itachi, and if he finds out that Itachi was ordered by konoha, he'll come back here and try to destroy this place!"

Tsunade h'mphed. "Not like this place doesn't deserve it," she said darkly.

Jiraiya just sighed and stood up from the chair he was sitting on. "I understand you're pissed, but remember that the people here are innocent."

Tsunade snorted. "Innocent? Please, the villagers are arrogant and full of themselves! Especially the civilian council, and you know it!"

Jiraiya sighed again. "True. But you also know that there are some good people here. Just please, don't quit being hokage. We can't allow Danzo to step up, and you know it!" he said right back at her.

Tsunade t'sked. "Fine. But if that bastard tries anything I'll kill him. Even if I don't have any evidence."

Jiraiya smirked. But then remembered the information he had received. "There's also another trouble that has arisen."

Tsunade sighed. "What is it now?" she asked.

"It seems that there's someone killing random iwa shinobi," he answered her.

Tsunade looked at him with a confused look. "What? Why would anyone do that?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "I don't know. And there's no pattern either. He or she takes out any shinobi he or she comes in contact with, be it genin, chunin, or jonin."

"I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing," admitted Tsunade.

"Probably bad," said Jiraiya.

Tsunade looked at him confused again. "And why would you say that?"

"I don't know," he answered truthfully, "I just have this feeling that things are gonna get a lot worse, and soon."

Then there was a knock on the door. "Enter," said Tsunade, as Jiraiya took the silencing seal off.

Shizune walked in. "Tsunade-sama, we have just received the report regarding the mission to rescue the kazekage."

* * *

><p>'Naruto….what are you up to?' wondered Gaara as he sat alone in his office. The team that had rescued him had left earlier that day. They were in a hurry since they had to report to the hokage, as well as bury one Sarutobi Asuma. Unfortunately, they hadn't made it in time to find a cure to the poison. There was also the funeral of Lady Chiyo, who had given her life to return his. And now he was pondering the latest information he had learned-that one Uzumaki Naruto had left konoha for reasons unknown.<p>

"Gaara," said Temari as she and Kankuro entered his office.

Gaara turned to them. "What did you find?" he asked them.

Temari sighed. "According to our spy network, the last place Naruto was seen was in kumo, but that was about a week ago."

Gaara contemplated this new info. "That's strange. Why would he be there?"

Kankuro sighed. "We couldn't get anything else. Kumo has the best protection against spies in the whole Elemental Nations, well besides Ame."

Gaara h'mmed in agreement. "We'll just have to wait till he shows up again then."

Temari and Kankuro nodded.

* * *

><p>"About time you showed up," said Obito as he landed in front of the group. He turned to look at the group, spotting Itachi. "Well, I guess you succeeded."<p>

Mikoto just nodded.

Itachi looked at Obito, not recognizing him. "Seems like you're missing someone," said Obito, noticing the absence of Juugo.

"He's dead." said Mikoto as she walked inside the hideout, Sasuke and Itachi following her.

Suigetsu grumbled, remembering his defeat. Karin was still sore from carrying Suigetsu for about a day.

Obito just looked at them amused, before following the other three. Suigetsu and Karin just went to the rooms that they were residing in before they'd left.

"Where's Naruto?" asked Mikoto.

"Training," answered Obito.

"Well tell him we have things to discuss," said Mikoto.

Obito raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

* * *

><p>Yugito sighed as she put the scroll down. 'Well, guess I have to stick around some more.'<p>

**"What did that over muscled brute say?"**

Yugito sighed as she heard what nibi called the raikage. 'Weren't you paying attention when I read it?'

**"No. Me asking you should have told you I wasn't."**

Yugito decided to just answer the tailed beast. 'He wants me to keep following him, to see wether he would become a threat to kumo.'

Nibi snorted. **"Of course he's a threat. But he doesn't care about kumo. I thought you would know this by now."**

Yugito mentally sighed. 'Of course I do. But orders are orders.'

Nibi laughed. **"Just admitted that you're attracted to him and want to ride him till…."**

'SHUT UP!' screamed Yugito with a blush.

Nibi sighed. **"It will be a lot easier if you just admitted it."**

Yugito shook her head, her blush still present. 'There's nothing to admit.'

Nibi smirked, not that Yugito could see it. **"We'll see about that…."**

* * *

><p>"What do you want?" asked Naruto as he sat down. The four uchihas and the uzumaki were currently sitting around a table inside one of the many rooms of the hideout.<p>

Itachi raised an eyebrow at Naruto's new appearance and change in attitude. Having discarded his old wardrobe thanks to Mikoto giving him hew clothes. Itachi's attire now composed of what resembled an anbu's uniform, except with no headband.

Naruto raised his own eyebrow as he noticed Itachi. "What is he doing here?" he asked Mikoto.

"He's here to join us," answered Mikoto like nothing was wrong, "as well as ask you some questions."

**"Oh it's Tachi-chan!"** spoke Kushina from inside Naruto's mind, surprised.

**"Another uchiha…."** muttered Kurama.

"Now as to why we are gathered," continued Mikoto, "is because we have to decide what our next move is."

"I thought we were waiting till he was finished," spoke Obito, pointing at Naruto.

'Kurama,' said Naruto.

**"We have no choice. You'll have to learn how to control my power during battle I suppose," **Kurama said, answering his unasked question.

"I'm good to go," said Naruto.

Mikoto nodded. "Perfect. Then," she looked directly at Naruto, "just how do you exactly plan on destroying the village?"

"My first targets are the village leaders, of course," said Naruto, "after that the village itself."

"That's pretty ambitious," commented Itachi, still not entirely sure if he made the right choice.

"And why is that?" asked Naruto.

"Because you're going after the big ones," answered Obito for Itachi, "who are pretty hard to get to. Especially Danzo."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "I know that. Which is why I'm going to return to that place, and then make my move."

The uchihas all raised their eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?" asked Sasuke, speaking for the first time.

Naruto smirked. "As far as they're concerned, I just left. They don't know why I did, just that I did."

Mikoto smirked as well, catching on. "I see. So you plan to just give them a reason to why you left, and then move from there."

Naruto nodded. "And what reason will you give them?" asked Itachi.

Naruto shrugged. "Simple. Training, which isn't a total lie." At their confused looks, he explained. "At the beginning, the reason I left was because I wasn't getting the training I expected from Jiraiya, so I left. I wanted to see what the shinobi world was like, as well as see just how strong I could get. It wasn't till later that things changed."

"I see…" said Itachi.

"What about us?" asked Sasuke. "What are we supposed to do?"

Itachi took a glance at his younger brother. 'I don't have much time. I suppose now is the best chance as ever.' He turned towards his mother. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"The true leader of akatsuki."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. 'Akatsuki, huh? I forgot about them….'

Mikoto raised her hand. "I already know about that."

Itachi's eyes widened. "How did you know about him!"

Mikoto chuckled. "There you go again, underestimating your own mother."

"Who are you talking about?" asked Sasuke.

"_Uchiha Madara_," answered Obito with obvious sarcasm. Itachi raised an eyebrow, taking note of it.

"Uchiha Madara?" repeated Sasuke, confused.

**"HIM!"** screamed Kurama.

**'Is he really alive?' **wondered Kushina.

Naruto just listened to the conversation.

Mikoto sighed. "Itachi, you have been deceived."

Itachi stared at her, silently asking her what she meant. "The Madara you are speaking of is a fake, not the real one. The real Uchiha Madara is already dead." she took a discreet glance towards Obito.

Itachi leaned back in his chair, shocked.

"Then who is this 'Madara'?" asked Naruto.

Mikoto tilted her head. "That's not important," she answered. Obito shook his hands in anger, not that anyone noticed besides Mikoto.

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. 'Something is not right here….'

**"You're right,"** agreed Kurama. Kushina stayed silent.

"Anyway," began Mikoto, trying to change the subject, "you do have a point," she said to Itachi, "while I hadn't really care about akatsuki in the past, sooner or later they will interfere with us."

"You're talking about me, aren't you?" said Naruto.

Mikoto nodded. "That's right. You're still one of their targets, and will come after you soon."

"Don't worry," said Itachi, coming out of his shock, "you were supposed to be captured last. But with me gone, I don't know who they will send after you."

"It's still a problem," said Obito, "we have to somehow take them out, and destroy whatever this 'Madara's' plan is."

Mikoto looked at him. "And how do you suppose we do that?"

"Simple. We gathered the remaining jinchuriki," he answered.

Mikoto looked at him crazily. "Do you realize how stupid that sounds?" she said.

Obito shrugged. "Not really. The nibi jinchuriki is already here with us. And thanks to that agreement Naruto made with Kumo, getting the hachibi jinchuriki to join us won't be that hard."

"That does make two," agreed Naruto, "but what about the rest?"

"Thanks to akatsuki, I know of their location," said Itachi.

Mikoto stood up. "Do you realize what you're talking about?" she asked. "This is about the jinchurikis, a village's weapon, not something they'll give up willingly."

"Who said anything about willingly?" said Obito with a smirk.

Mikoto shook her head as she sat back down. "You're crazy."

Obito shrugged again. "Probably."

Mikoto held her head in her hands. "We're not going to…"

"He's right." said Itachi.

"What?" asked Mikoto as she looked at her oldest son.

"They would prove to be powerful allies, something we need," he answered.

"I agree." said Sasuke. "I heard that a jinchuriki's power is suppose to be fierce," he added as he looked at Naruto, who smirked.

"Which tailed beasts have already been captured?" asked Obito to Itachi.

"The Yonbi, Gobi, Rokubi, and just recently the Ichibi," he answered.

**"Four already…."** muttered Kurama. Kushina glanced at him inside Naruto's mind, taking in his troubled look.

'Are you alright?' asked Naruto.

**"Yes…."**

Naruto didn't believe him, but decided not to push. He also took notice of another fact. 'The Ichibi….' he thought. It could only mean that Gaara was captured.

"I also think they could prove to be useful," said Naruto.

Mikoto turned towards him. "I thought you wanted to destroy konoha?"

Naruto snorted. "Of course I do. But it's gonna require to have some more allies, and some thinking. I might not know this Danzo personally, but from everything I heard, he's as slippery as Orochimaru."

"Well, I guess it's decided," said Obito.

Mikoto sighed. "This is gonna be the most stupid thing I have ever done…."

"Then you haven't lived life," said Obito with a smirk.

"So who's doing what?" asked Itachi.

"We'll have to split up," answered Mikoto.

"And do things quietly," added Naruto. "I don't want konoha to find out about this."

"There's something I have to do first," said Itachi as he looked at Sasuke.

Mikoto sighed sadly, knowing what was going to happen. Sasuke looked at his older brother, confused. "Are you sure?" she asked Itachi. Itachi merely nodded.

**"Naruto-kun," **said Kushina suddenly.

'What is it?' he asked her.

**"I need to speak with Miko-chan," **she answered.

"Mikoto," said Naruto. When he had her attention he continued, "there's something I need to speak to you about."

Mikoto nodded. "Well, after we're ready, we'll set out."

The others nodded. Itachi motioned for Sasuke to follow him, which he did. Obito headed out….to someplace.

Mikoto walked up to Naruto. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I need you to enter my mind. I know that thanks to your sharingan you can do it." Mikoto raised an eyebrow, but complied. A few seconds later, she found herself within a sewer.

* * *

><p>"A sewer, huh…." muttered Mikoto.<p>

"Good to see you again, Miko-chan," said a voice from behind her, making her freeze. When she turned, her suspicion was confirmed. "Kushina?" she said, shocked.

"The only one," said Kushina cheerfully. Next thing she knew, she was being hugged, their boobs squishing with each other.

'This is kind of erotic,' said a voice from within Naruto's head, making him shake his head.

"How?" asked Mikoto.

"Thank Naruto-kun," was the response she got.

Mikoto looked at Naruto, who merely shrugged.

"There's some things I have to talk to you about," said Kushina.

Mikoto nodded. "Well follow me." She followed Kushina out of the room.

"That was weird…" muttered Naruto.

**"This is actually the perfect chance to tell you something as well."**

Naruto turned towards Kurama.

* * *

><p>"Well what is it?" asked Mikoto.<p>

Kushina turned to look at her best friend. "I need you to be honest," she said with a serious voice, "just what are your plans?"

Mikoto gave her a questioning look. "I don't understand."

"Don't play with me," she continued, "I might not know what you're up to, but if it harms my son, best friend or not, I will somehow find a way, and kill you."

Mikoto stared at her for a few seconds emotionless, before laughing. "You haven't changed. But don't worry, I don't intend to harm Naruto."

Kushina studied her, before slowly nodding. "Alright. But you still haven't told me what your plans are."

Mikoto sighed. "There are a lot of things that you don't know Kushina."

"Like my clan being betrayed?" she said sarcastically.

"I'm not surprised Naruto told you, but there's a lot more. Heh, I bet there are some things that I don't know."

'Yeah,' thought Kushina, thinking of Mito, 'I bet there are.' "Can't you trust me?"

Mikoto sighed. "It's really simple-revenge."

Kushina just stared at her. "Not just about the massacre, but for the suffering of my sons as well. The way my clan was put down, being used like tools."

"But why everyone?" asked Kushina.

Mikoto chuckled. "I could care less about the villagers. But your son is a different matter, am I right?"

It was Kushina's turn to sigh. "I guess that after finding out about the betrayal, all the suppressed hatred he had for the village came out, not that I could blame him."

Mikoto nodded. "Don't worry. Soon everything will be taken cared for."

Kushina shook her head. "I never thought that things would turn out like this."

"I know," said Mikoto in agreement, "I never thought that I would try a coup, or that I would be here where I am today."

Kushina nodded. "Things really do change fast," she said in a low voice, but Mikoto heard her, and agreed with her. 'How things change...' they both thought together.

* * *

><p>"Well that really is interesting…." muttered Naruto.<p>

**"So you're gonna do it?"**

Naruto nodded. "Of course. With this, I'll be able to find out everything. So you really don't know, do you?"

**"Of course not. We weren't exactly friends."**

Naruto chuckled. "That will be the first thing I'll have to do, then."

**"You're really going back to the village?"**

Naruto sighed. "Yes, it's necessary."

**"Are you sure you'll be able to control yourself?"**

"It will be difficult," admitted Naruto, "but I'll have to do it. But there's something else that I want to ask you….."

**"You're talking about giving your mother a real body?"** guessed Kurama.

Naruto nodded. "That's right."

Kurama sighed. **"It will be difficult, and will require a huge mastery of fuinjutsu, mastery that you yet don't have. But your mother does. I'm sure she will help you."**

"I was also thinking about looking through the library of Orochimaru," added Naruto, "I'm sure he's got a forbidden jutsu that will help us."

Kurama nodded in agreement. **"You're right about that. And don't forget that a body will also be needed."**

Naruto then noticed Kushina returning along with Mikoto. "Done?" he asked them.

They both nodded. "If you excuse me," said Mikoto, "there's some place I have to be." She disappeared.

* * *

><p>Sasuke merely stared at his brother, shocked.<p>

Itachi chuckled at his look. "What's wrong, little brother? Wasn't this your goal?"

"Well that was before…." muttered Sasuke.

Itachi sighed. "Sasuke, I don't have much time. This way my death will mean something."

"Are you sure?" asked Sasuke one more time.

Itachi merely nodded. "Yes, I am. I've already made too many mistakes in my life. I know that you're set on the path that you are, and there's nothing that will change your mind," he said, remembering Naruto, "and I won't try to stop you anymore. And even if what our mother said is true, there's still a part of me that can't see the village destroyed. So this way, things work out for the both of us."

"Why?" asked Sasuke. "Why do you still care about that place! Even after everything that has happened, why do you still care about it!"

Itachi sighed. "I don't know," he admitted, "I really don't know. I guess I just don't want to see any more suffering. And that's exactly what's going to happen if I stay here."

"I guess there really is no changing your mind," said Mikoto as she joined them.

"You knew?" Sasuke asked his mother.

Mikoto nodded. "Yes. But you want to talk to Naruto first, don't you?"

"Yes," answered Itachi. "I need to learn the truth first."

"Follow me."

Sasuke could only stare at his older brother's retreating form.

* * *

><p><em>"He's you, in every way, except that he doesn't care what he does to accomplish his goal."<em>

Obito remembered very well what _he _told him, exactly what had happened that day. 'But hey, I'm alive,' he thought. With that thought in mind, he just lied back down on the tree, trying to forget the past.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Summer is almost over, which means more school….how sad. But I guess time must go on. And here's the next chapter…..I don't really have anything else to say.**

**REVIEW!**

**Later**


	17. Trust?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…."- Tailed Beast, Summoning, Pain, Black Zetsu, or Kushina<br>_**"Hmm…."**_**- Dark Naruto, or Orochimaru****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 16: Trust?<strong>

"It went better than I expected…." muttered Tsunade, putting the mission report down.

"Really?" said Jiraiya. "How were you expecting things to go?"

Tsunade shrugged. "To be honest I don't know, but the fact that we only lost one shinobi when akatsuki is the enemy is a good outcome."

"Really?" said Jiraiya again. "Even when said shinobi is Sarutobi Asuma?"

Tsunade sighed. "I know what you're probably thinking, but you're wrong," she said.

"Please enlighten me," he said almost sarcastically.

"I don't hate Asuma or anyone related to sensei just for what he did. That's stupid, and meaningless. I was just merely stating a fact," she said.

Jiraiya sighed in relief. "Well, that's good to hear. But I don't think that the rest are gonna feel the same, especially his old team."

"The person that killed him is already dead," stated Tsunade, "there's no one for them to try to take revenge on."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. The last thing we need is any more Sasukes."

Tsunade h'mphed. "That would be the last thing that we need, especially with everything else that is going on at the moment." She massaged her forehead. "I really need a brake from all of this."

Jiraiya smirked as he made his way to one of the windows. "Just don't be quitting on me. Things would really become hectic if you did."

"Where are you going?" she asked, as Jiraiya opened the window.

"I still need to find Naruto," he answered with determination, "I'm not going to rest till I'm sure that Minato's son is back here safe and sound."

Tsunade sighed. "I wish you luck."

He jumped out.

Tsunade turned to her office table, and picked her sensei's journal. 'I feel like I'm missing something here,' she thought with irritation. 'My grandmother, Mito, just what did she know? Was she planning on taking revenge? No, that would be stupid and she would know that. She wasn't an idiot. And those trips….was she meeting someone? An accomplice maybe? That sounds reasonable….but nothing happened! And her sudden interesting in the underground system of the village….maybe there's a clue there. But there are millions of tunnels! But it's not like I have any other leads….'

She put the journal down, and stood up to one of the windows, gazing at the village. 'Grandmother, I have a feeling that you were planning something, but the question is what?'

What Tsunade didn't know was that she was asking the wrong question…..

* * *

><p><strong>"So Sasori didn't make it," <strong>stated Pain.

"That's down another member," said Kakuzu, "and with Kisame, and Itachi gone that only leaves me and Hidan to hunt the remaining tailed beasts."

"Don't forget about me, hmm!" shouted Deidara in anger.

"And me!" said a figure beside him enthusiastically.

"We're suppose to hunt the remaining beasts with these two?" asked Kakuzu, annoyed.

"What's that suppose to mean, hmm?" said Deidara.

Kakuzu didn't bother to answer him, making Deidara angrier.

"Now, now Deidara-sempai, don't go blowing up on us!"

"Tobi, shut up, hmm!" screamed Deidara, turning towards his new partner.

Pain sighed, not that anyone noticed besides Konan.

"See what I mean?" said Kakuzu.

"I'm still here," said white zetsu. His other half didn't bother to point out that he was also there, not caring.

**"Enough of this!" **shouted Pain, losing his patience. The other members quieted, lest they angered him any further. **"Now we're here to decide what our next course of action is going to be, as well as who goes after who."**

"I thought it was clear already?" said Kakuzu.

**"Not anymore,"** was the response he got. Pain turned to zetsu. **"Are there any leads to the whereabouts of the kyuubi?"**

"No," answered white zetsu, "after kumo, the trail ends cold." **"The nibi seems to have gone with him as well," **added black zetsu.

"Oh that's fucking great!" said Hidan. "Don't tell me I'm going to have to go and find that bitch myself!"

"That's my job," said white zetsu.

**"The hachibi is too well protected, so it would be better to wait in his capture," **said Pain**, "and we have yet to find the sanbi, which means that the nanabi shall be next." **He focused on Kakuzu and Hidan. **"You two are to capture it immediately. Failure is not an option."**

Kakuzu just settled for a nod, while Hidan grunted at being ordered.

"What about us, Leader-sama?" asked Tobi with his childish glee.

Pain turned towards him and Deidara. **"While Zetsu is busy trying to locate the nibi and kyuubi, you two are to locate and if possible, capture the sanbi. Understood?"** Deidara nodded, and Tobi jumped. "Leave it to us, Leader-sama! We will not let you down!" Deidara disappeared, making Tobi follow him. The others left as well, until it was just Pain and Konan.

"He sure knows how to act," commented Konan.

Pain nodded. **"That's true."**

Konan looked at him. "What are you thinking?"

**"That I'm probably going to have to capture the kyuubi myself," **he answered.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

**"I don't know…..it's just a feeling."** He disappeared along with Konan, making it look as if no one was ever present.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this?" asked Kushina to his son.<p>

Naruto sighed. "Yes I am. It's something that cannot be avoided."

Kushina nodded. "Alright. I'll trust you on this, but you're gonna have to be extra careful. A lot of people are gonna have a careful eye on you."

"I know that," said Naruto, a little annoyed, "I'm not an idiot. While they don't have any reason to be suspicious of me, well besides me leaving like that, it's not gonna stay like that forever. Especially with Danzo."

"I also learned of your 'agreement' with kumo," said Kushina.

"What of it?" asked Naruto.

"Any particular reason why you chose that place?" Kushina still remembered the attempt that was made to capture her. She was glad that it failed, for if it had succeeded, she shuddered, imagining what would have become of her. She would have been used to rebuild the uzumaki clan, and who knows what else. Not to mention that they had a part on the force that wiped out uzu.

Naruto raised an eyebrow when he noticed her look of disgust when she thought of kumo, but placed it in the back of his mind for now. "No reason. It just happened. Not that it wasn't convenient, because I now have a shinobi village on my side, but I don't know how long that's going to last."

"You don't trust them?" asked Kushina, perplexed.

Naruto chuckled. "Of course not. I'm pretty sure the raikage has his own motive for agreeing, not that I care. And anyway, kumo was the best logical choice. Iwa would be after my head the moment I step foot in that village because of my resemblance to the yondaime." Kushina didn't bother correcting him on how he should call Minato 'father', but she noticed that there was no malice when he said 'yondaime'. She would have thought that at least some hatred would be visible. "Kiri is a mess right now," continued Naruto, "thanks to the Civil war that they just came out of. They would have been of no help. And Suna is an ally to konoha, and would have likely tried to capture me, even after their allegiance with oto earlier. So really, kumo is the best choice. Circumstances just made it easier."

Kushina slowly nodded. "I understand your point. But let me ask you something…." she took a pause. "Who do you really trust?"

"Hmm…interesting question," muttered Naruto. "Truly?" he asked her. At her nod, he continued. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. At her shocked look, he just shrugged. "Don't be so surprised. I've been lied to my entirely life. Even with Kurama. I don't know if he still has some other motive for continuing to help me. Mikoto as well, because I'm pretty sure that she has her secrets, and so do the rest. And as for you," he looked straight at her, "you might be my mother but that doesn't mean that I trust you completely. I just met you after all. You might be hiding something."

"But I'm not!" denied Kushina.

Naruto shrugged again. "Only time will tell."

Kushina clenched her hands. 'Looks like I'm going to have to earn his trust after all,' she thought, 'but why would I think otherwise? Considering how everyone has deceived him in some way, I'm not surprised that now he would have a hard time trusting anyone.' "I'll be going then." She disappeared.

Naruto sighed. 'Well, she had to know the truth.' His attention turned to his surrounding noticing how his mind became all dark and black.

_**"I'm hurt you know."**_

Naruto h'mphed as he recognized the voice. It was his after all. "And why is that? You're me after all."

Dark Naruto smirked as he appeared before his other self. _**"Exactly. I'm you. And yet you don't trust me."**_

"Just because we're one, doesn't mean anything."

Dark Naruto's smirk disappeared. _**"You're right. It looks like you have really gotten smarter."**_

"But I also know that you don't want to fight me. At least, not yet."

_**"Oh my, looks like I've been found out."**_ Dark Naruto chuckled. _**"That's correct. I don't care wether you trust me or not, or wether you like me or not. It is irrelevant to me."**_

"Just what do you want?"

Dark Naruto shrugged. _**"Who knows?"**_

Naruto tilted his head at his other self. "Then you yourself don't know what you want? That's sad really."

Dark Naruto narrowed his eyes. _**"You better watch yourself. After all, your goal itself is pathetic. Taking revenge for people you never knew. I know that that village is pathetic, and that they deserve it, but you want to destroy it for a stupid reason."**_

Naruto smirked. "I know it is."

_**"Then why? I'm not one who doesn't like destruction for no reason, but I know that you don't think the same way."**_

"It's simple really. I'm doing this because I want to."

Dark Naruto just stared at his other self, making Naruto chuckled. "My actions are my own. I'm not gonna lie, the fact that my clan was wiped out because of them played a part in my decision, but it's not the entire picture." His hands turned into fists. "They think of themselves as gods, as if they were the best thing that has ever happened, which is hardly the truth. They are merely fools who don't understand a single thing."

_**"You're talking about our childhood…."**_

"You should know how it felt. The beatings, the discrimination, the lies, the loneliness." Naruto shook his head. "Of course, no matter what I do, the past will stay like it is. But not the future. Knowing what I now know, there is no way that I could think of that place as my home, least of all try to protect it."

_**"And? What will you do once you have accomplished your goal?"**_

"Honestly? I don't know yet. But when the time comes, I'll figure it out. There is no use thinking about it right now."

_**"Heh. There are other things to consider as well."**_

"You're talking about the ones who were part of the actual attack."

Dark Naruto smirked. _**"Exactly."**_

"You really do love causing destruction, don't you? Trying to trick me into destroying the other villages. And here I thought you would just try to take over."

_**"It's more beneficial this way, as well as more interesting and entertaining."**_

"I don't care about them at the moment. But you never know…."

Dark Naruto laughed. _**"This is fun! You are certainly me alright. And a word of advice-I would watch out for the uchihas."**_

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I thought you liked Mikoto?"

_**"Like? Hell no! I just said that she was sexy, and that I wouldn't mind fucking her. Don't twist my words around."**_

"Whatever. And I already know that. I'm not so foolish."

Dark Naruto smirked again. _**"I'll be watching."**_ He disappeared, the darkness along with him.

Naruto then felt a pull, and he disappeared as well.

* * *

><p>He woke to the real world to see Mikoto and Itachi in front of him. "Anything I can help you with?" he asked them.<p>

Itachi nodded. "I have some questions for you," he answered.

"About?"

"Is it true that your clan was abandoned by konoha?"

Naruto nodded, not understanding why Itachi was interested. "That's right."

Itachi looked down. So it was true. But somewhere deep in his heart, he still cared about the village.

"Why does it matter to you?" he asked him.

Itachi looked back up. "I don't know if you know, but your mother, Uzumaki Kushina, was very important to me, like an older sister." Naruto's eyes widened a bit at that. "I wanted to confirm if what my mother said was true, that's the only reason I'm here."

"And? Now that you know, what do you plan on doing?" asked Naruto.

"I know that your intentions toward konoha are hostile, and I don't think that I could stop you even if I wanted to, so I'm going to help you."

"Really? Why would you want to stop me? I thought you defected…." Naruto trailed off.

Itachi shook his head. "There are some things you yourself don't know, but that's for another time."

_"He destroyed the Uchiha clan…..!"_

_"Under konoha's instruction."_

Naruto remembered what Mikoto had told Sasuke when they had first met. 'So Itachi was ordered to destroy the uchihas. But something tells me that's it deeper than that.'

"Well, I guess you're with us now," said Naruto.

"No," said Itachi, "I said I would help you, but not the way you're thinking."

"Then in what way?" asked Naruto.

Itachi began to walk away. "You'll see soon enough."

Once he was out of sight, Naruto turned to Mikoto. "What was he talking about?"

Mikoto sighed. "Like he said, you'll see soon," she answered him.

"Alright, but we'll have to move soon."

Mikoto nodded. "I know that. But it would be better if you were to return to konoha now. Don't underestimate Jiraiya's spy network."

"Yeah, you're right about that," agreed Naruto. 'Not to mention that I have to find whatever it is Mito left for me, or should I say Kushina's child.'

"We'll find the jinchuriki then," said Mikoto.

"About time," said Obito as he came in.

"I still don't agree with this," said Mikoto.

Obito smirked. "Don't worry, you will." He then became serious. "There's something I forgot to mention earlier."

"And that is?" said Naruto.

"The nibi jinchuriki seems to have send a message to the raikage, and she got a reply."

Mikoto smirked. "Interesting. What did she told him?"

"And what makes you think that I know anything else?" said Obito innocently. Mikoto in turn gave him 'the look', making Obito put his hands up, surrendering. "Alright, alright. I don't know when, but she found out that Naruto is the son of the yondaime, as well as what he plans to do, or should I say, we."

"And what did the raikage say?" asked Naruto.

"He told her to stay put, and follow you to make sure you don't become a threat to kumo."

"That girl is going way over her head…." said Mikoto.

"Just what is it with you two?" asked Naruto, not getting what the problem between the two was.

"I don't know what you're talking about." It was Mikoto's turn to play innocent, and it looked better on her than it did with Obito.

Naruto shook his head, although he did have to admit that she did look good. "Never mind."

Mikoto in turn smirked. She could almost read his thoughts. "Now, it wouldn't be good if you suddenly get a crush on me, _Naruto-kun_."

Obito raised an eyebrow. 'Ok, this is gonna be so much fun,' he thought.

When he was younger, Naruto would have blushed, but not anymore. "Then there will be no problem."

Mikoto still kept her smirk. "Good then."

"What will we do with her?" asked Naruto, changing the subject.

"She will come with us," answered Mikoto. "Your part is to get all the information you can on Danzo, and the other elders, but more specifically Danzo. He'll be the difficult one here. We'll handle getting more allies."

"And there's one more thing to consider," said Obito. "No doubt Jiraiya will find out about your meeting with the raikage if he hasn't already. You might have to explain that."

Naruto nodded. "I've taking that into account, but I doubt that he knows. From what I heard, kumo has an effective system on making sure spies don't get in."

"You're right," said Mikoto, "but it's best to be prepare for anything."

"Well, I'll go get ready."

Once he had left, Obito spoke. "And what of Itachi?"

Mikoto sighed. "His mind is already made up. We'll have to get ready for the implantation as well."

She started to walk away, but stopped as Obito spoke again. "You know, you never did told me how you managed to acquire all those sharingan eyes after you escaped that night. I mean, even after I helped you and everything..."

Mikoto smirked, not that Obito could see since she was facing away. "That my dear relative, is a secret."

* * *

><p>"How far is that fucking place anyways?" asked Hidan.<p>

Kakuzu sighed in irritation. "We just left, you know..."

"Tch. Well it feels like it's been forever already!"

"You're more irritating than usual," stated Kakuzu in a factual tone.

"Fuck you!" screamed Hidan in response.

"Are you pissed that you're target is missing?"

Hidan snorted. "Hell yeah! It just means more work and time in which I could use for the sacrifices that are needed for Jashin-sama!"

It was Kakuzu's turn to snort. "You couldn't even take that Uchiha brat. Worse of all, you were taking down easily, with just two moves!"

Hidan shook in anger. "Shut the fuck up! You couldn't handle that woman either!"

Kakuzu h'mphed. "Please, the woman is actually stronger than the brat for your information. I doubt that you could ever take her. And I was also limited if you have forgotten."

"So was I!" said Hidan, angry.

"The only difference was that I actually used up my chakra, and actually fought her," retorted Kakuzu.

"Yeah, well," began Hidan, not knowing what else to say. "Shut up!"

"Heh." was all Kakuzu said as he ended the conversation.

Hidan was pissed now. 'That brat,' he thought angrily about Sasuke, 'next time I see him I'm going to make sure he becomes a sacrifice! After all, that's the best he'll ever be! A sacrifice!'

Kakuzu didn't pay attention to the look his partner had on his face while he was thinking about what he was going to do to the uchiha. He didn't care after all. The only reason he put up with Hidan was because he couldn't kill him, something he was going to fix soon. The other reason was because the leader threaten to kill him if he killed Hidan. After going through a large number of partners, since he couldn't remember how many he had gone through since he had lost count, the leader had lost his patience. And if an immortal like Hidan couldn't last, then who would? But Kakuzu didn't know how much more he could take before he snapped.

'Why did I join akatsuki again?' he wondered to himself. 'Oh yeah, if I didn't, I would have been killed.' How he remembered that day. He was going to one of the cash houses to cash in on his latest bounty, when Zetsu came out of nowhere, telling him all about akatsuki, and how if he refused, he would be killed. Not much of a choice, really. He had known about Zetsu, one of the best, if not the best, spy in the elemental nations. If he followed someone, then he or she was strong, and that was proven to be correct. And the day that he thought that would be no different than the last, turned out to be one that started his new life. He didn't mind akatsuki really. He earned money, and got protection. All he had to do was capture jinchuriki, not a bad trade off in his opinion.

'Well besides Hidan,' he thought. 'Whatever, once akatsuki accomplishes it's goal, I'm gonna kill him.' With that, he continued towards Taki, a place he once called home.

* * *

><p>'This is a pain in the ass,' thought Tsunade as she gazed at the map in her desk. Said map was the entire underground network of the village put on paper. The network was huge, bigger than the village itself, since there were tunnels underneath tunnels. There were a total of five levels. The deeper you went, the more likely you could get lost. The map only showed the known tunnels, but there were more out there. Some incomplete, and some just forgotten.<p>

Tsunade bit one of her nails. 'Some tunnels have been recently built, some destroy, so there's no doubt that my grandmother would have been looking at a different map. I wonder if there are any left from that period….' She then shook her head. 'But what exactly am I looking for!' she thought in irritation.

There was a knock on her door. One "Enter" and the rescue team came in, with Shizune in the front. "Tsunade-sama the team is here."

Tsunade's eyebrows went up in surprise as she saw the team enter. 'That was fast,' she thought. She then took the time to study their appearance. They were all battered and tired, and some looked like they had been crying recently, namely most of the rookies. She mentally sighed. They were gonna have to get over it, she thought. This was the shinobi world, and this was how it worked.

"I have already read over the report," she said, "so there's no need for a debriefing. You will all get a week off to rest. Asuma's funeral shall be held tomorrow afternoon. You're all dismissed." They all walked out, one by one, all but not Sakura. "Anything I could do for you?" said Tsunade.

"I was just wondering if there were any news on Sasuke-kun….or Naruto," she answered quietly.

This time, Tsunade did sigh. "Sakura, go home and rest. You just returned from a heavy battle, and you're lucky to be alive."

"But…" began Sakura.

"Go home and rest," interrupted Tsunade. Sakura could tell that she wasn't going to get anything, so she decided that leaving was the best option. Once she was gone, Tsunade could only shake her head. 'Just what does she want?' thought Tsunade to herself. But then she remembered what she was suppose to be doing. "Shizune," she said to her assistant who was standing beside her.

"Yes?" said Shizune.

"See if you can find a map of this village's underground network from about….say thirty years ago?"

* * *

><p>"It is time."<p>

Sasuke merely activated his sharingan, focusing them on Itachi. They were currently a few miles away from the hideout that they were residing in.

Itachi's mangekyo appeared. He smiled. "Make this fun for me, little brother."

They went straight at each other, Sasuke bringing his sword forward. Itachi blocked the strike with a kunai. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, jumping forward, going for a kick. Itachi caught his younger brother's foot with his unused hand. Both of them jumped back, doing the same exact seals.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!" **The two giant fireballs smashed against each other, trying to overcome each other. After a few seconds, Itachi could see that Sasuke was going to come on top.

_**"Amaterasu."**_ Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw his fire being engulfed in the black flames.

_**"Chidori."**_ Sasuke ran forward at a speed that surprised Itachi. _**"Chidori Nagashi!"**_

Itachi jumped upward dodging the current. His eyes widened as he saw Sasuke already in front of him, his sword ready. Itachi was stabbed right in his heart, before dispersing into crows. 'A clone?' thought Sasuke as he landed. He was grabbed from behind, and thrown backwards. He grunted in pain as he hit the ground. He jumped out of the way as the spot he landed on was caught in the black flames.

"Is that all you have?" asked Itachi.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. **"Fire Style: Hosenka!"**

Itachi skillfully dodged the barrage of small fireballs, before bending backwards just in time to dodge a Fuma Shuriken. As he came back up, he brought out another kunai to block another Fuma shuriken. But it was different from the first. '_**Chidori**__' _thought Itachi. The shuriken cut right through the kunai, almost slicing his arm off.

As he turned to look at his brother, his appearance had change. 'The curse seal,' he thought. 'Well he's good with ninjutsu, lets see his genjutsu.'

His left mangekyo that had been closed during the whole encounter, opened, and his right closed. Sasuke narrowed his sharingan eyes when he saw this. "Well what are you waiting for?" said Itachi.

**"Chidori Senbon."**

'Useless,' thought Itachi. **"Fire Style: Gokakyu."**

The fireball repelled all of the electric needles. **"Chidori!" **Itachi turned back, but it was too late. He was pierced right through the chest. "You can't fool me," said Sasuke. Itachi's eyes widened as the world shattered.

Itachi came to the real world, only for pain to spread all over his left eye, making him fall on his knees.

Sasuke too fell, except he wasn't experiencing as much pain as Itachi was. 'How?' thought Itachi holding his left eye as another wave of pain came.

Sasuke activated his cursed seal up to the second stage as he stood back up. 'It's time,' thought Sasuke. _**"Fire Style: Goryuka."**_ The fire dragons went up to the sky, making Itachi confused, despite the pain he still felt. "What was the point of that?" asked Itachi as the curse mark on Sasuke receded.

Sasuke didn't respond as he brought his left arm up in the air, and thunderclouds appeared. Itachi narrowed his eyes as he saw this. Thunder appeared next, and afterwards a beast made of light came out of the clouds. Itachi's eyes widened when he saw it.

_**"Kirin!"**_

The jutsu struck as fast as Amaterasu. Sasuke panted as the entire area was destroyed. 'So it's over….'

"Nice technique."

His eyes widened as he saw Itachi, protected by Susanoo in its perfect form.

'I forgot about that,' thought Sasuke, worried. 'I'm almost out of chakra.' He tried to walk backwards, but instead fell backwards.

"Don't you have anything else?" asked Itachi. 'I have to push him…..' He suddenly coughed, blood coming out again. 'I don't have too much time left.'

_**"I can give you power…."**_ Sasuke's eyes widened when he heard the voice. 'I don't need you,' he thought.

_**"Hehehehehe…."**_ **(AN: Just imagined the creepy laugh, even as….creepy as it is. **_***Shudder***_**)** _**"Really? Because to me, it looks like you're gonna lose. Is that what you want?"**_

Sasuke screamed as he transformed into a white, eight headed snake. 'It's finally here,' thought Itachi.

The snake struck at Itachi's Susanoo. The heads wrapped around the Susanoo, before they were cut down, one by one by the **Totsuka no Tsurugi**. The last head stood back, lest it too was cut. It opened it's mouth, and behold, Orochimaru came out, puking out his famous sword out of his mouth.

_**"At last, thanks to you I will finally have Sasuke-kun's body!" **_**(AN: I know…that's just wrong.)** Itachi simply smirked. Orochimaru was about to continue, but was impaled by the sword. His face twisted in pain, before smirking. _**"Did you really think that would be enough to take me down?"**_ The next thing Orochimaru knew, he was suddenly being sealed away by the sword. _**"I-impossible! Itachi, you….!"**_ he couldn't finished as we was sealed away completely.

Sasuke was kneeling, panting hard, his sharingan long since deactivated. Itachi turned to him, and began to walk towards him, slowly. Sasuke tried to get up, but failed miserably. 'Damn, my body feels heavy.' He finally was able to stand up, walked back, Itachi still walking towards him. A few more steps, and Sasuke couldn't walk back any more, a boulder from the debris blocking his path. 'Shit. Is this the end….?'

Itachi was in front of him a couple of seconds later. He brought his right hand up, and poked Sasuke's forehead, Sasuke having a shock look on his face. "This is the end, little brother." His Susanoo deactivated, and Itachi fell forward, his head hitting the boulder before falling on his back, dead.

A tear fell came out of Sasuke's left eye, and he too fell on his back, next to his brother, where it began to rain.

* * *

><p>'It's over…..' thought Naruto as he watched the whole fight from a safe distance. He saw as Mikoto appeared before her two sons. 'I don't get it. Just how is Itachi helping us by fighting Sasuke and dying?'<p>

**"I don't know," **answered Kurama. **"But I have a hunch."**

'Which is?'

The tailed beast shook his head from within Naruto's mind. **"We'll see later, won't we?"**

**"Poor Tachi-chan…."** said Kushina.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. 'Well, as long as they keep their part, things should go well.'

**"Heh. You don't trust them fully, do you?"** asked Kurama. Kushina stayed quiet.

'It doesn't matter wether I trust them or not.'

**"I suppose you're right…."**

**"We should get going,"** said Kushina. **"After all, Naruto-kun, we have our own part to do."**

Naruto smirked. 'I suppose you're right. After I'm inside the village, the first thing I need to do is find whatever Mito left. After that, is where things begin…' He disappeared.

Konoha should prepare itself. Uzumaki Naruto was returning, but things would be different than before.

* * *

><p><strong>Finally! Everything is in place for the REAL start of the story to begin. That's right, next time Naruto returns to konoha! But will things go as smoothly as he thinks? Especially with Danzo….<strong>

**Not to mention the fact that Tsunade is doing her own investigation. How will the rookies react? Jiraiya? The council? Who gives a shit...**

**And the uchihas head to find the rest of the jinchurikis. How will things go with them?**

**Till next time  
>Later<strong>


	18. What A Crafty Woman

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
><strong>"Hmm…"-<strong> **Tailed Beast, Summoning, Kushina, or Black Zetsu****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 17: What a Crafty Woman<strong>

"Is it done?" asked Sasuke.

Mikoto nodded. "Yes it is. But it will take awhile for you to get used to them, so I suggest that you rest for now."

"How long will that take?" he asked, touching the bandages covering his eyes.

"I don't know," answered Mikoto, "a couple of days, would be my guest. There's also the wounds from the battle with Itachi, so I would imagine that that would lengthen the time till you're back to one hundred percent. But once you have recovered to your top condition, you are to take the remainder of your team and head to iwa. Once you've arrived there, you're to wait for me to rendezvous with you."

Sasuke raised a bandaged covered eyebrow. "Iwa? For what reason?"

Mikoto smirked. "Kumo is with Naruto, so we're gonna have to need our own hidden village to back us up, as well as help us in our goal overall. That old goat will no doubt agree if we promise to join his village, as well as tell him what our plans are regarding konoha."

"I doubt that you're serious about us joining iwa," said Sasuke.

Mikoto nodded. "Of course I'm not serious. But it will help us win the old fool over."

Sasuke nodded. "Alright. But what about you?"

"I'm heading to kumo with the little kitty to pick up the hachibi jinchuriki," she answered.

"And Naruto?"

"He left for konoha a few hours ago," she said. "And Obito headed towards taki for the nanabi jinchuriki," she added.

"I see."

Mikoto patted his head like a little kid, making Sasuke twitch in annoyance. "For now just focus on recuperating, ok little Sasu?" she said like any mother who was talking to a four year-old.

Sasuke twitched again. "I gotta it."

Mikoto smiled and started to walk out. "Good. I'll see you in iwa then."

* * *

><p>Once she was outside the hideout, Mikoto came face-to-face with Yugito. "You're ready. Good. I don't feel like waiting anymore."<p>

Yugito nodded, a smirk on her face. "Of course. After all, you could turn to dust any second, right?"

Mikoto's eyebrows twitched. "Don't be getting ahead of yourself, kitty."

"Would you stop calling me that!" said Yugito, irritated at the nickname.

Mikoto h'mphed. "I'll think about it." She started to walk away, Yugito following her, albeit reluctantly.

"Where are we going?" asked Yugito.

"Kumo."

Yugito raised an eyebrow. "Why are we heading to kumo? And where is everyone else?"

Mikoto stopped walking, Yugito almost bumping into her. "First rule-don't ask, just do."

Yugito's eye twitched. "And why should I?" she said in defiance.

Mikoto turned towards her. "You must have forgotten, but let me enlighten you. According to the agreement between YOUR raikage and Naruto, you were to follow Naruto's orders, and his orders were to follow mine. Got it?"

Yugito t'ched, but didn't say anything else.

Mikoto smirked. "Now that that's out of the way, shall we?"

Yugito didn't respond, just opting to following her. 'This is not good,' thought Yugito, 'raikage-sama said to follow Naruto, but now I can't thanks to whatever it is that they discussed! And I can't say anything either, or else she'll get suspicious of me. The last thing I need is for her to find out that I contacted raikage-sama.' Too late for that.

**"Please, kitten. Just be honest."**

'What are you talking about now?' asked Yugito.

**"You're just angry that your fox boy is no longer at your side."**

'THAT DOES IT!'

Nibi h'mphed. **"There's nothing that….wait what is that?" **Pause. **"THAT'S NOT FAIR! WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO YOU!" **It all went quiet.

Yugito mentally smirked. 'That should keep that sex-craved cat quiet for awhile. Why does it even think that I'm attracted to Naruto anyway? I mean, sure he's strong, and handsome, and….' Yugito blushed. 'What am I thinking! I've never even talked to him properly for god's sake! It must be nibi getting to me! Yes, that's all that it is.'

Mikoto was having her own thoughts. 'Once I've convinced that old fool, I'm gonna have to get in contact with Naruto. Good thing that I remembered some of the emergency exits of the village. I should be able to get in through one of them. But the problem is going to be not being seen by anyone. There's no doubt Danzo is going to have a closer watch on him, and Tsunade might too. So how am I going to pull this off? Whatever, I'll think about that later. I have other things to think about at the moment.' She continued towards kumo, Yugito behind her.

* * *

><p><strong>"This place hasn't changed," <strong>said Kushina.

'Yeah, you're right,' agreed Naruto. Currently he was standing in front of the gates of the great village of konoha. He had a cloak covering his entire body, and his face, or else anbu would be on him as soon as he stepped in. He was sure of that. 'Thanks to your chakra cloak, I'm extremely fast,' said Naruto to Kurama.

Kurama nodded. **"Of course. But that's not all that you can do with it, but more on that later. We should get a move on," **said Kurama. Naruto mentally nodded, and started to walk towards the village.

Kotetsu and Izumo, the great duo that guarded the village's main entrance gate, both raised their eyebrows at the cloaked figure. "Excuse me," said Izumo, gaining the figure's attention. "You have to sing in," finished Kotetsu for his partner and best friend.

'Guess I'm going to have to reveal myself,' thought Naruto, walking towards them.

**"It's for the best,"** said Kushina**, "after all, you don't want to create a mess here."**

'Yet.'

Kushina sighed. **"Just do it."**

Naruto stood in front of Kotetsu and Izumo, not saying a word. "Well," began Kotetsu, a little awkwardly, and took a sign in book, and a pen, "what is your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Both Kotetsu and Izumo stopped at that. "What did you say your name was again?" asked Izumo.

Naruto took the hood off. "Uzumaki Naruto." he said again.

Both guards went wide eyed, before regaining their composures. "You are to come with me to the Hokage immediately," said Izumo seriously, Kotetsu looking just as serious.

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes. 'Idiots…' he thought. "Of course," he said out loud, "lead the way."

Izumo was surprised that Naruto didn't try anything as he stood up and lead the way. 'Maybe he really is the same Naruto, and there was some kind of misunderstanding,' he thought.

Naruto was doing everything in his willpower from rolling his eyes as he followed Izumo. 'What kind of idiot doesn't check a potential enemy for weapons, leaves him uncuffed, and turns his back on him?'

**"He doesn't think that you're an enemy, remember?" **said Kurama.

**"He's right,"** said Kushina.

Naruto mentally sighed. 'I suppose.'

**"Just stay focus. You have to convince Tsunade that you aren't up to anything, and that you leaving Jiraiya doesn't have any other hidden motives," **said Kushina.

Naruto didn't respond to her, instead he looked around the village, all the happy villagers, going about their business. 'They should enjoy it while it lasts,' he thought darkly.

* * *

><p>'Think,' thought Tsunade, looking at the map that she requested that was on her desk, 'if I were my grandmother, how would I hide something?' But nothing came to her. 'She was a very careful woman, who alway preferred to think things through before taking any action,' she thought, but then sighed. 'There's also the fact that I distanced myself from her, so I really wasn't as close with her as I now want to be.' She sighed sadly. 'How can I ever hope to find anything? And that's if she was even up to something….'<p>

"Tsunade-sama!" said Shizune as she barged in.

Taking in her assistant's shocked look, Tsunade asked, "What is it Shizune?"

"Well," she began, "someone is here to see you."

Tsunade sighed. "Is that really any reason for you to barge into my office?"

Shizune shook her head. "You don't understand, Tsunade-sama. It's Naruto!"

Tsunade got quiet at that, before exploding. "Well why didn't you just say that in the first place then!" she screamed. "Send him in, immediately!"

Shizune nodded, and walked out. Tsunade folded the map, and placed it inside of one of the drawers. 'The brat's back,' she thought. 'What the hell!'

Naruto followed Shizune inside the hokage's office, looking around. **"Even this hasn't changed,"** commented Kushina.

"Naruto!" said Tsunade as she went up to him and hugged him, Naruto hugging her back. 'I have to keep up the act.' "How's it going Tsunade?" Tsunade's eyes widened a bit at that. He hadn't called her 'baa-chan'.

She shook out of it, ended the hug, and brought her fist back. "Do you realize how worried you had me!" she brought her fist forward, intending on sending Naruto flying towards the wall. To her shock, as well as Shizune's, Naruto merely tilted his head to the right, avoiding her fist.

"Now that's not very nice," said Naruto.

Tsunade kept staring at him with wide eyes. 'He dodged! He fucking dodged!'

"Are you alright?" asked Naruto, a little amused.

Tsunade shook her head, and walked back to her desk, and sat down. "Yes well, this is certainly a surprise," she said. Tsunade looked at Naruto seriously. "Do you realize how much trouble you're in brat?"

Naruto shrugged. "Not really. I mean, I was on a training trip."

Tsunade looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Really? Because last I heard, you disappeared!"

Naruto nodded. "Yes I did. But I was training. Wasn't that the purpose for me leaving the village in the first place? So that I could get stronger and have a chance against akatsuki? Well, mission accomplished!"

Tsunade sighed. "You're twisting this all around Naruto. You left without a word, not a trace at all. Not to mention that you also ditched Jiraiya, who was suppose to be the one training you."

Naruto snorted. "Please. He wasn't training me."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, silently asking him what he meant. Naruto sighed at that, and took off the black cloak he had on. Tsunade raised another eyebrow at his new attire. Naruto now wore standard black anbu pants, black ninja sandals, a black long sleeved shirt with the collars up, and a black cape with what appeared to be red flames at the end, and in kanji it had "The Fox Spirit" written on it in red. The Shodai necklace hanging loose around his neck.

"You should know how Jiraiya is," said Naruto, bringing her attention back to him, and at the fact that he hadn't called Jiraiya "ero-sennin". "All he was doing was his 'research' and not training me. And correct me if I'm wrong, but that was the purpose of the trip." He shrugged again. "And you never did say that I had to do it with him. So I decided that it was best that I didn't continue it with him."

"Oh?" said Tsunade. "Then pray tell, who did you finish it with?"

Naruto smirked. "With a few people here and there. No one really special."

"Tch. Then that means you didn't accomplish anything!"

"Now, now, just because someone isn't well known doesn't mean that he or she isn't strong. It just means that they're smart enough not to let people know how good they are."

"Fine!" said Tsunade, throwing her hands in the air. "Then what did you learn?" she asked him. 'I doubt that he learned anything new….'

"Hmm…." muttered Naruto as he rubbed his chin. "Good question. And the answer is that you'll see when I used whatever it is that I learned."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. 'This isn't the same Naruto. Not only has his appearance change, but his attitude as well. I wonder what happened…' "Then how am I suppose to know how good you've gotten?"

Naruto shrugged. "You'll see when I have to show it. Besides, ninjas need to keep secrets after all." He said the last part a bit darkly, but Tsunade didn't pay it too much attention.

'Dammit. He's really not going to tell me anything. In that case….' "Well then, I'm going to need to have to evaluate you."

Naruto sighed. "Fine. But can we do that later. I'm a bit tire from the trip and would like to relax."

Tsunade nodded. "Alright. We'll do it tomorrow morning, so you have the rest of the day to relax. Be here in my office at eight AM."

Naruto bowed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama." He then walked out of the office.

Tsunade folded her hands together, bringing them close to her face. 'Something is not right here. He's definitely not the same Naruto. I need to keep my eye on him….but if I send anbu to keep track of him, and if he finds out, I'll loose his trust. Or whatever trust I have at the moment.' She sighed.

"Tsunade-sama, what are we going to do?" asked Shizune.

"I don't know," answered Tsunade. 'He might be like my grandmother in that aspect, keeping secrets.' She mentally chuckled. 'The're both uzumakis….' her eyes widened. "THAT'S IT!" screamed Tsunade, making Shizune jump in surprise.

"What's it?" said Shizune, but Tsunade paid her no mind. Instead she brought the map out that was on her desk earlier. 'My grandmother was a true uzumaki at heart. And what do uzumakis specialize in? Seals. Also a perfect way to hide something you don't want anyone else to find.' she thought while gazing at the map. 'Now the question is where can I find it? And does it even exist in the first place…..'

* * *

><p><strong>"Nice act, Naruto-kun,"<strong> said Kushina.

'Thanks. But right now the important thing is to find whatever Mito left behind.'

**"Are you sure you want to do that right now?"** asked Kurama. **"That senju woman might be sending someone to keep an eye on you. As well as that Danzo…."**

Naruto mentally shook his head. 'Thanks to you're chakra, I can sense anyone that might be trying spy on me. And I don't think that Tsunade will send any anbu to spy on me. She cares too much about me to ever consider me a threat. Well, until it's too late that is.'

**"There's still Danzo," **Kushina reminded him.

'Oh yes. But like I said, I'll be able to sense whoever he sends after me. And I don't think that he'll risk sending his men out. But even if he does, I'll just say that I'm sight seeing. This is also going to be the best time for me to do this.'

**"Alright…."**

As he made his way towards the Hokage mountain, he noticed something. 'Looks like they added Tsunade's face up there. Not surprising I guess.' Another thought came to his mind as well. 'Oi, Kurama. You mind explaining to me what your hunch is regarding what happened with Sasuke?'

Kurama sighed. **"I guess it's better to tell you now. I'm not sure if it's one hundred percent accurate, but my guess is that now the uchiha will have the mangekyo, and if that woman is as cunning as I think she is, the brat might be getting the eternal, which is in a way the final step to the sharingan, unless you somehow get both senju and uchiha DNA together like with you, in which case you would possess the rinnegan."**

'I see…'

**"Are you sure?"** asked Kushina.

**"Of course I am. The key to activating the mangekyo is for you to feel regret. There's no doubt in my mind that the uchiha brat would feel regret about killing his brother, knowing that he wasn't responsible for the massacre of the uchihas. Not that I care how or who did it, just that it happened."**

'Mikoto said that konoha ordered Itachi to massacre the uchiha clan, and that they were betrayed, but there has to be a reason. Konoha loves its bloodlines after all. And a clan like the uchiha possessing such a strong bloodline….yes, something had to have happened for konoha to take such a course of action.'

Kurama shrugged. **"Like I said, I don't care. I'm just glad that it happened."**

Naruto sighed. 'You might not care, but I would like to know just what happened for that night to occur.'

**"Naruto-kun, the uchiha clan has always been shrouded in mystery. They were always feeling like they weren't important to the village. I would know since Mikoto came from an important family from within the clan, and we were best friends back then. She told me how the elders of the clan were becoming more and more concerned with how things were going. It was the war that kept their minds off of it though,"** said Kushina.

'Well, I'm just going to have to ask her the next time I see her then.'

**"I still think it might be a waste of time."**

Naruto didn't respond to the tailed beast. 'We're here.' Naruto took the entrance for the caves within the heads of each hokage. 'The shodai hokage.'

**"That's right. But I don't know what we're looking for, though,"** said Kurama

**"We should just go the Shodai's face,"** said Kushina.

Naruto walked in, going through each cave within the faces, following each tunnel, until he was in the cave within the face of the legendary Senju Hashiramu. He looked around, not noticing anything out of place. 'I don't see anything.'

**"Concentrate,"** ordered Kushina. **"I'll be looking as well."**

Naruto concentrated harder, looking at the cave with a shinobi's eyes instead of a civilian's. As he gazed around, something caught his eyes. **"That's it!"** said Kushina, also noticing it. There was an almost unnoticeable swirl at one of the ends of the cave, but more specifically, the uzumaki clan's symbol. Normal civilians would have missed it, as well as shinobi, although less likely. But if a shinobi were to have notice it, they would have dismissed it as a normal crack or formation.

Naruto walked to it, and kneeled, running one of his hands across the symbol. 'This is definitely not a normal formation alright, even though it's been made to look like it,' though Naruto.

**"That's Mito-sama for you,"** said Kushina with a chuckle.

**"That's good and all,"** interrupted Kurama**, "but just what is this suppose to mean? Or better yet, what are we suppose to do?"**

'Good question….didn't Mito give you any clues?'

Kurama shook his head. **"No she didn't. All she said was that only an uzumaki could ever hope to find it."**

Kushina's eyes widened in realization within Naruto's mind. **"I gotta it! This has to be some sort of seal!"**

Naruto whistled. 'A seal, huh? If that's the case, then she really was an expert with them.'

**"Yes she was, but nevermind about that right now. Naruto-kun, I want you to run your hand across the symbol again, except this time pierce one of your fingers for your blood to come out and for it to be distinguished by the seal."**

Naruto did as he was told, understanding what the seal was suppose to do. Once he had finished, the symbol glowed red, before there was a crack underneath is, and then another one, until a scroll came out. Naruto chuckled as he picked the scroll up. 'I see. If anybody were to have noticed the symbol and deduced that it wasn't natural, but that it could be something else, possibly some sort of seal, they still would never have been able to access it since they weren't an uzumaki, and therefore lacked the DNA that marks you as one, and the seal would never reveal what it was holding. So that's what she meant when she said that only an uzumaki could ever hope to find it.' Naruto chuckled more as he stood up. 'She must have place some sort of identification that only uzumaki blood could open it up, even if that person wasn't a complete uzumaki. I'm really starting to like my ancestor!'

Kushina laughed. **"I know. She really was a genus. The best kunoichi that the elemental nations has ever seen."**

**"Let's praise her later,"** said Kurama. **"For now, open the scroll Naruto."**

Naruto did, but it wasn't what he was expecting. 'What is this?' he thought looking at what the scroll contained.

**"Hmm….seems like our work is not over yet,"** commented Kurama.

'It's a map.' stated Naruto. 'But a map of what?'

**"I know what this is!" **exclaimed Kushina. **"This is a map of the underground network of the village! But it looks a lot different then from what I remember….it must be from her time."**

'How did you know that?' asked Naruto as walked back out.

Kushina chuckled. **"Oh Naruto-kun, have you forgotten that I was the wife of Minato, who was the Yondaime hokage? I saw him handle a lot of different documents that were top secret."**

**"He trusted you that much?"** asked Kurama.

**"Yes he did…."** she didn't say anything else on the matter.

'It came in handy,' thought Naruto as he stood outside on top of the shodai's face. 'Now, looks like we're heading underground.'

* * *

><p><strong>"We have a situation."<strong>

Tobi stopped walking and turned to look at Zetsu. "What's the problem now?"

"It would seem that the kyuubi jinchuriki has returned to konoha," answered white zetsu.

Tobi didn't have a visible reaction. "When?" he asked.

**"About an hour or so."** it was black zetsu who answered this time.

'Zetsu really is the best spy in the Elemental Nations,' thought Tobi. "Well, this really is some unexpected news. First he leaves Jiraiya, and now he returns to the village in his own free will. I might be going crazy, but something is not right about that. Wouldn't you agree?"

**"It could be anything. Itachi did say the kyuubi jinchuriki wasn't very smart."**

Tobi sighed. "That was two years ago, almost three. People change."

"But only under extreme circumstances," said white zetsu.

Tobi nodded. "That's true."

**"What are we going to do about this?"**

"Tell Pain that he is now in charge of capturing the kyuubi, and that I will not tolerate any failure," he answered.

**"It will be done."**

"And what of the female uchiha?" asked white zetsu. "She hasn't shown up yet like you predicted."

"It's still too soon," answered Tobi. "But she will come. For now, the hunt for the kyuubi jinchuriki will be put on hold. Once Pain has killed her, then we shall move on the kyuubi. And what of the nibi?"

"Nothing yet," answered white zetsu.

"For now, me and Deidara will continue searching for the sanbi. Inform me immediately if you hear anything about Uchiha Mikoto, as well as what happens with Kakuzu and Hidan."

**"We're on it." **Zetsu disappeared underground.

"Tobi, where are you, hmm!?"

Tobi sighed again, before going into his cover mode. "I'm right here, Deidara-sempai!"

* * *

><p>"DAMMIT!"<p>

"Tsunade-sama, please calm down!"

Tsunade took deep breaths, helping her in calming her down. Thank god Shizune had managed to convince her to take those anger management classes….

'They didn't find anything,' thought Tsunade in irritation. She had sent a team of anbu to the village's underground network to search for anything that might look suspicious, or anything that could be some sort of seal or anything related to that sort. But they had come empty handed. 'Looks like I was wrong. My grandmother wasn't up to anything. But why doesn't that make me feel better?'

Then there was a knock on her door, and guess who it was?

'Tch….' thought Tsunade, 'not these old farts.'

"Greetings Tsunade," said Homura in a friendly tone as he, Koharu, and Danzo walked in.

Tsunade sighed. "Alright, I'm only going to say this once-I'm not in the mood, so cut the crap, and tell me why you're here."

Both Homura and Koharu had annoyed looks on their faces, but Danzo kept his usual emotionless look. "Yes well," began Koharu, "we just heard something interesting."

"Oh? And what is that?" asked Tsunade, feigning ignorance.

"That Uzumaki Naruto has returned." finished Homura for his teammate.

"Yes he has."

Homura and Koharu were beginning to get more and more annoyed. "So? Why hasn't he been arrested!" said Homura, raising his voice a bit.

"Arrested?" repeated Tsunade. "Last time I checked, he hasn't broken any laws."

"Have you forgotten that he left the village without permission," stated Koharu, more calmly than her teammate. "Why he wasn't listed as a rogue ninja, well that I don't know."

"Rogue ninja?" said Tsunade. "Age must be getting to you." Both elders got tick marks on their heads, but Danzo just kept silent. "You are misinterpreting the whole thing. Naruto was on a training trip that I authorized."

"Really?" spoke Danzo for the first time with some sarcasm. "Because it would seem that you and Jiraiya lost track of him. I doubt that that counts as a training trip."

Tsunade snorted. "I never said that he was training with Jiraiya exclusively, did I? He merely finished his training by himself, nothing else to it."

Danzo's hand on his cane clenched. 'Is she serious….?' he thought.

Tsunade mentally smirked. 'I guess the brat's excuse worked for me as well. But I'm not finished with him…..' "Now then, _honorable _elders, would you mind leaving my office so that I can concentrate on my duties?"

Homura and Koharu left without another word, pissed. Danzo stared at her for a couple of seconds, and then headed towards the door. Before he walked out, he spoke, "You and I both know that you don't buy that excuse." Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him. "And if you do," he continued, "then that's pathetic. I know that you care about him, but you are the hokage. That boy is up to something. I only hope that you open your eyes before it's too late." He walked out the room.

Tsunade brought her fist down on the desk, but thankfully didn't use her super strength. 'That bastard…but he's right about one thing. The brat is definitely up to something….'

* * *

><p>"What is it?"<p>

"You are now in charge of capturing the kyuubi jinchuriki." **"Tobi expects there to be no failures."**

Pain didn't even turn to look at him. "I thought I was suppose to deal with the female uchiha?"

"She comes first of course," said white zetsu with a grin, "but Tobi wanted you to know that the kyuubi will be your target once you've dealt with the uchiha."

"It will be done." Zetsu sank back into the ground, heading towards his next objective.

"It seems that you were right," said Konan softly as she came into the room.

"Yes…." Pain looked at the village from the balcony he was sitting on, where it was still raining.

Konan looked at her last remaining friend that was currently using the body of the man she once loved. 'Why do I get the feeling that things will get a lot worst from here on out?' Konan shook her head. 'No, I shouldn't be thinking that way. We will capture all the tailed beasts, including the kyuubi, and then peace shall come, not only to Ame, but to the world.'

* * *

><p>'This place is fucked up.'<p>

**"Oh, stop your whining, Naruto-kun. Besides, we're almost there."**

Naruto stopped in front of a dead end. He was currently in the third floor of the underground system. 'This is where the map points to. But there's nothing….' he stopped, and then turned his rinnegan on.

**"What is it?"** asked Kurama.

'Well, she really is cunning.'

**"How did she know…."** muttered Kushina quietly to herself.

Thanks to the rinnegan, Naruto was able to see the chakra running all along through the wall, all converging to one spot right in the middle, where a paper seal was placed. 'Only someone with a dojutsu would be able to find this,' thought Naruto.

**"Indeed…."** agreed Kurama.

Naruto placed his right hand at the spot where the chakra converged, flaring his own chakra, making the seal break in half. Naruto stepped back as the wall shook, and then crumbled into pieces. Naruto walked into the now accessible room, shutting his rinnegan off. He looked around before spotting another scroll stuck in the back wall. He made his way towards it with caution. Who knows if Mito had set any other booby traps. As he stood in front of it, no traps apparently, he took the second scroll from the wall.

**"Something tells me that this is it,"** said Kurama.

**"I agree," **said Kushina.

Naruto opened the scroll and, indeed, there was a letter address to him. 'Finally.' He started to read it.

_Greetings young Uzumaki,_

_There's no doubt in my mind that you have a lot of questions at the moment. But don't fret, I will, hopefully, answer all of your questions. First, let me congratulate you for finding this. This also means that everything is going according to plan. And of course, that raises the first, and probably the most present question of them all-How? How do I know all of this? The answer, whether you will believe it or not, lies within the man that history portraits as a traitor and a failure. The reason I know all of this is because he told me all of it thanks to an ability that he possesses with the final form of his dojutsu-the rinnegan. To not beat around the bush, the man that I'm talking about is Uchiha Madara._

_That's right, Uchiha Madara is the man that is responsible for me knowing what I know. There's no doubt that the reason he told me the things that he did was so that I could help him with his revenge on the village, but it does not matter to me. The fact that my clan, and yours, is now gone in part because of this village is what matters to me. I know that you probably don't feel as strongly as I do about this since you never knew them, but the fact that you're reading this means that you plan to destroy the village, which is good enough for me._

_Back to the topic at hand, Uchiha Madara, thanks to the rinnegan that he gained after fighting my husband and Shodai Hokage, was able to see through time after mastering his rinnegan. Yes, I know it sounds farfetched, but that's just one power gained with the unification of the Senju and Uchiha, descendants of the Sage of Sixth Paths. And thanks to it, I was able to see what would happen in the future, and who and what you are. You must be wondering what I'm talking about, but don't worry, someday you'll see what you're meant to do and how special you are._

_After he told me, I planned for a way for you to find all of this out. And thanks to kyuubi, that was made possible. I knew that you would somehow end up being the third jinchuriki, but I don't know the circumstances. Madara was never specific. I don't know why, but I decided to not question it. Somehow he maintained his youth that surpassed that of the uzumaki clan, but I'm sure that by the time you're reading this, he should be dead. So while I was old and weary, near death, he was still young, not a teenager, but young, at least younger than me in appearance. I wouldn't have had a chance against him. Not that I would have tried to fight him, even if I were to be on my top condition._

_Now you know how I knew all of this. The rest is up to you. I know that you will have your own method to do this, as well as your allies. I also know that taking revenge for the uzumaki clan isn't your main reason or concern, but like I said, it does not matter to me. As long as this village gets what it deserves, I will be happy. I wish you luck, and if you have any other questions left, they will be answered within time._

_Yours truly,  
>Uzumaki Mito<em>

Naruto closed the scroll, his eyes closed.

**"Uchiha Madara,"** said Kurama with disgust**, "I see now why he challenged Hashiramu at the Valley of the End."**

**"So that's how she knew,"** commented Kushina**, "but I never imagined that Madara would be involved in this. Guess Mito-sama really was desperate."**

Kurama h'mphed. **"Not really. Konoha betrayed its very own founders. Well, I don't know about what happened with the uchihas, but the senjus certainly were."**

**"Naruto-kun, what now? We know what Mito-sama wanted us to know…."**

Naruto who had been silent, started to laugh. "Incredible! Who would have thought that Mito was like this!"

**"You mess with family, and you die."** stated Kushina with an emotionless voice.

Naruto laughed some more as he headed back. "Uzumaki Mito….what a crafty woman!"

* * *

><p><strong>Yo to everyone from everywhere!<strong>

**And this concludes chapter seventeen, the calm before the storm as to say. And that's right, Madara is also involved in all of this shit. But his part in all of this is far from over. That's correct, he was involved in other things as well. Can anyone guess?**

**And this might be some kind of rant, but it's not really one. I just have one question-why do people get so worked up over little things? I mean, this is just a fucking story! And not one of the most popular ones either. And these are just fictional characters that don't exist! So why get all worked up. Seriously! If you don't like the story, then just stop reading it. It's that simple. I also know that the uchiha clan is not innocent, but I'm writing this from different points of view.**

**Oh, and someone asked how Naruto and Dark Naruto were able to talk to each other if they merged. The fact is that Dark Naruto is still there with Naruto. They're one, but like two personas for the same being. If that makes sense….and when they talked, they were in one of the deepest parts of Naruto's mind and conscious which is where Dark Naruto is currently in, watching how everything unfolds.**

**And last thing-I'm going to Miami to spend the rest of my vacation, and when I get back, school is like the next day. So I don't know when I'll be able to update again. But then again, I might have some free time sooner than I think but I won't promise anything.**

**Till next time  
>later<strong>


	19. Deal? Or No Deal?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…."- Tailed Beast, Summoning, Black Zetsu, Kushina<br>**_"Hmm…."_****- Dream, Flashback****

**Chapter 18: Deal? Or No Deal?**

_"Why? Why are you doing this!?"_

_"Heh…It's not important. I only need your kyuubi. That's all."_

_"The kyuubi? You…you're going to destroy konoha!?"_

_"Hahahahaha!"_

_"Why are you laughing!?"_

_"If only you knew what this village has done! Not that it matters since you're going to die here!"_

Naruto woke up with a start, clutching his head in pain, sweating and panting heavily. 'What was that?' he wondered to himself.

**"So you're awake?"**

'Kurama…what just happened?'

Kurama sighed. **"It seems that you have just experienced an old memory."**

'Of my mother, right?'

**"That's correct."**

'How?' he asked, as he got out of bed in his apartment and made his way to his bathroom.

**"I don't know. Somehow your conscious must be merging with each other. It's unexpected."**

Naruto splashed himself with cold water, enjoying the feeling of the water on his skin. 'Where is she now?'

**"Somewhere deeper inside your mind. She said that she wanted to know more about your past. She seemed certain that you wouldn't mind."**

Naruto mentally nodded as he went to lie back on his bed. 'Good. I don't want her to know about this. Is that clear Kurama?'

**"Yeah, I understand."**

Naruto sighed as he laid there, thinking about what was going to happen the next day. 'I'm going to have to fight someone tomorrow…what an annoyance.'

**"Really? I was expecting that you would be happy to fight someone from this village."**

'To kill them. Not for a simple spar.'

Kurama snorted. **"Yeah, I should have guessed."**

Naruto smirked. 'I'm surprised that you didn't.'

**"Whatever. Who do you think it's gonna be?"**

'I don't know. It could be anyone.' Naruto then thought about the his mother's memory. 'She was…scared.'

**"Yes she was. It was the night you were born. The night that Mad-the mask guy extracted me from her. It was the second time in her life that she felt fear."**

'Second?'

Kurama nodded. **"Yes. The first was when she was kidnapped by kumo."**

'So that's why…'

**"Why what?"**

'Nevermind.' Naruto narrowed his eyes. 'I'll make sure that she never feels fear again.'

**"Big claim. I don't think you'll be able to keep it."**

'And why is that?'

**"Because she cares about you. And the fact is that you're doing something very dangerous that could get you killed. I think that she will feel fear, but not for herself, but fear of losing you again. You saw it in the dream right? Yes, she was worried about konoha, but in the back of her mind she was also thinking about you."**

'And how do you know that?'

**"Because she's your mother. And if there is something that I know about you humans is that the mother always worries about her child. Well, most do anyways."**

Naruto chuckled. 'Yeah, I suppose you're right about that.'

Kurama snorted. **"Of course I'm right. I'm the kyuubi."**

* * *

><p>Obito shook his head in disgust as he walked. He had arrived at Taki a couple of hours ago in search for the jinchuriki of the nanabi. A task that was not hard to accomplish. Besides kumo, and even then it was just recently, every other village treated their jinchuriki like garbage, and this place was no different, which is the reason why he was shaking his head.<p>

'Humans can be such ignorant creatures,' he thought to himself.

He was currently on his way to the outskirts of the village, which is where the jinchuriki lived. There was no doubt that it wouldn't be too difficult to get the jinchuriki to come with him. She was despised, if the fact that when he had asked for her the villagers became disgusted was any indication. Taki wasn't one with great shinobi, which meant lest protection, which just made his job easier, so he didn't have to worry about being discovered.

As he arrived, he noticed the poor condition in which the establishment was in, but decided not to dwell on it. After he knocked, he heard movement from the inside, and the door opening, if barely.

"What do you want?" said a very feminine voice.

"I'm here to offer you a proposition," said Obito getting straight to the point. It would be better if he did this quickly.

"No I will not sleep with you no matter what you say you're going to do!" snapped Fuu. She was quiet sick of being asked that by many, if not all, men of the village. She knew that it was just some sick bet that they had come up with just to see who could 'tame the demon'. They went as far as to offer her money, threatened her, and many other things that she had thankfully forgotten.

Obito raised an eyebrow when he heard that. "No, I'm not here for 'that' kind of proposition."

Fuu narrowed her eyes. 'That's a first,' she thought in anger, 'but might as well see just what they came up with this time.' "Then what is your proposition?"

Obito knew that if he asked to come in she would take it the wrong way, so he decided to explain things out here. "I know for a fact that you are not treated well in this village. I also know the reason for that," he added making Fuu narrow her eyes more.

"So you're not from here, are you?" she asked him.

Obito nodded. "That's correct. I'll be honest with you-I don't care about you, least of all about your past. The only reason that I'm here is because you'll be important for what we plan to do."

Fuu looked at him straight in the eyes, trying to see if he was telling the truth or not. After a couple of seconds of this, she opened the door completely. "You still haven't told me about your proposition," she stated.

It was Obito's turn to look at her in her eyes. "I'm here to get you out of the village, if you agree that is."

Fuu's eyes widened at this. "W-what d-d-did you just say?"

"That's correct."

Fuu came out of her shock and glared at him. "And why should I do that? I may not be liked here, but at least I know that I'm safe here."

Obito h'mphed when he heard that. "Safe? I highly doubt that. I don't know if you're trying to deceive me or yourself but we both know that 'safe' is the last thing that you are here."

Fuu knew that he was right, but her glare didn't disappear. "And? Are you saying that going with a total stranger to who knows where is considered 'safe'?"

Obito shook his head. "No it isn't. But at the moment you don't have a choice."

Fuu tensed when she heard that, preparing to defend herself if need be. "And what's that suppose to mean?"

Obito noticed the change in her posture, and smirked. "Don't worry. I wasn't talking about me. If I was, you'd already be dead or unconscious."

"Then who are you talking about?" she asked him.

He pointed to the path in which he came from. "Those two."

Fuu looked at where he was pointing at and true, two men wearing cloaks covered in red clouds were walking towards them. "Who are they?" asked Fuu, a little nervous.

"Annoyances." was the answer she received. Obito turned to the newcomers.

Kakuzu and Hidan stopped a few feet away from them. "And I thought the jinchuriki wasn't popular…." muttered Kakuzu as he gazed at the black haired individual.

"Who cares!" said Hidan, his usual smirk in its place. "It's just means that I'm able to get a sacrifice!" Kakuzu merely grunted in annoyance at that.

Obito in turn gave them a black stare. "Fuu," he said quietly, catching the younger girl's attention, "stay behind me. You wouldn't be able to handle them." Like any proud kunoichi, Fuu wanted to lash out and deny that statement, but something in her gut told her to listen to what the man in front of her told her. Obito activated his sharingan, shocking both Kakuzu and Hidan, but for different reasons.

'Another one,' thought Kakuzu, 'just what is going on? First that woman, and now him. Something is not right here….'

Hidan was more vocal though. "YES!" he screamed, a crazy look on his face. "Finally I find one of you uchihas! I'll show you just how strong I really am!" Obito kept staring at him with his blank stare that said 'I don't give a rat's ass what you say.' This just made Hidan more pissed. "You think you're so cool just because you have those eyes don't you!?" He took out his scythe. "Well I'll show you just how useless they really are!" Before Kakuzu could warn him about rushing in without a plan, Hidan did just that.

Obito merely smirked as Hidan's scythe went right through him, shocking everyone present there.

'What?' thought Kakuzu alarmed. 'What kind of jutsu is that?'

Before Hidan could react, Obito grabbed him by both of his shoulders, and sucked him into his dimension.

Kakuzu could only watch with wide eyes as his partner was sucked into a vortex, disappearing.

"Well then," said Obito, making Kakuzu tense, "now that that idiot is out of the way, why don't we have a chat?"

"About?" asked Kakuzu.

Obito smirked. "I know what kind of guy you are Kakuzu. You only care about money, one of the reasons you joined akatsuki in the first place, the other being that you didn't have a choice."

'How does he know?' thought Kakuzu to himself. "What are you getting at?" he asked him.

"Join me."

Kakuzu's eyes widened, before they went back to normal. "And how would that benefit me?"

Obito shrugged. "For one, you don't die," he stated, making Kakuzu grunt. "The other being that you would be pay very well. The uchiha clan is a wealthy clan after all. And I know that you don't particularly like akatsuki."

Kakuzu nodded his head. "You make a fine point, but I'm going to have to decline. Akatsuki would hunt me down no matter what. That be too much of an inconvenience in one's life."

Obito sighed. "I figured as much."

"If you already knew that I was going to say no, why offer it to me in the first place."

"Simple- I was told to gather allies, and I thought that you would make a fine selection."

"Told? Who told you to?"

Obito shook his head. "Sorry. Can't say. Besides, it won't matter. You're going to die here today."

Kakuzu tore his cloak off. "That may be, but I won't go down without a fight."

Obito shook his head. "No matter what you do, it will fail. Just give up. It'll be easier for the both of us."

Kakuzu ignored him, and instead one of Kakuzu's mask opened up. **"Fire Style: Zukokku!"**

Obito yawned as the compressed the fireball made it's way towards him before erupting into a giant fire storm.

Fuu jumped out of the way of the jutsu, and saw that her house was caught in the blast. She wanted to cry as she landed on a nearby tree branch. It may not have been much, but it was her home her entire life.

Kakuzu gazed at the now crater that he had created, trying to see if he had hit the uchiha.

"Not bad," said a voice from behind him, making his eyes widen, "but you would have to be a lot faster to hit me." Before he could get away, he too was sucked away.

As he finished teleporting Kakuzu to his dimension, Obito turned towards Fuu who landed beside him. "Sorry about your house," he said as he pointed to, or what was, her house.

Fuu shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. But just what was that jutsu that you used? I've never seen anything like it."

Obito turned away from her. "That's a secret. Now, are you coming with me or not?"

"You mind explaining to me what is going on? Just who were those two? What were they doing here? What did they want?"

"Those two were from an organization called akatsuki, and their goal is to capture the tailed beasts, one which is sealed inside of you, so you can guess what they were doing here," he answered, making Fuu look kinda of freaked out. 'An entire organization is after me?'

"Yes, an entire organization, composed of S-class ranked criminals I might add, is after you. And just let me tell you that those two weren't the strongest ones either."

"So, if I go with you I'll be safe from them?" asked Fuu, kinda of hopeful.

"From them?" repeated Obito. "Yes. From danger? No."

"What are you talking about?"

Obito folded his arms. "I already told you. I was told to look for allies, and that it was to help us with what we're planning. And don't worry, you won't be alone. The remaining jinchuriki are going to join us."

Fuu looked kinda of happy at that, before her face took a confuse look. "What do you mean 'we'?"

"You'll know if you will come with me. But don't worry, you're not going to be harmed by any of us."

Fuu nodded. "Alright. It'll be better than staying here, that's for sure."

Obito walked towards her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're going to be kinda of dizzy after this."

"Wait, didn't you send those other two over there too?"

"Don't worry. I can control where you will be."

For Fuu, everything was spinning after that.

Obito looked around before jumping away, a smirk placed on his face. 'Now that asshole will know that I'm still here.'

Zetsu appeared in one of the tree trunks. "That guy….he uses the same jutsu Tobi does."

**"Yeah. Just what is going on?"**

"I don't know. But this is becoming troublesome. Jut how many uchihas are still alive?"

**"Who knows? Do you think that somehow Itachi did this on purpose?"**

"I don't think so. He was shocked when he saw that woman…."

**"That's true. For now we better report to Tobi."**

* * *

><p>"TSUNADE I'M HERE!"<p>

Tsunade rubbed her forehead in annoyance as Jiraiya busted through one of the windows. "Will you ever use the door?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Forget about that! Is it true!? Is the brat back!?

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. But you should know that he's not the same."

Jiraiya's excitement died with that. "What are you talking about? I mean, it's been almost three years! So the brat got taller…"

"It's not that!" interrupted Tsunade. "His whole appearance changed, but most of all his attitude is different."

"Just what do you mean?"

Tsunade sighed. "I don't know. I just have this bad feeling."

"Don't worry ok?" said Jiraiya reassuringly. "I'm sure that you're just imagining things."

"I really hope so…." muttered Tsunade.

"Well where is he?" asked Jiraiya, beginning to get excited again.

"Don't worry, you'll meet him in about two hours or so."

"Two hours? What's going to happen in two hours?" asked Jiraiya.

"The brat's being stubborn," she said through gritted teeth, "he won't tell me what he learned."

"Well he probably didn't learn anything and doesn't want you to know that," said Jiraiya with a shrug.

"Which reminds me…." Tsunade stood up, and she grabbed her office chair that she was sitting on just a few moments ago and threw at Jiraiya, the latter dodging it. The chair broke through the wall, making the secretary outside faint.

"What the hell!?" screamed Jiraiya.

"That's for not teaching your godson you damn fucking pervert! And there's still a lot more to come!" she screamed back, walking towards him menacingly making Jiraiya bring his hands up to his face for protection. "What are you talking about!?"

"Naruto told me how all you were doing was peeking on women at the bathhouses and not training him at all! The reason I gave you permission to take him outside the village was so that you can teach him! Not to go and peep!"

"I'm sorry ok!" he said, really meaning it, which stopped Tsunade. "I know I was wrong! But there's nothing that I can do about it now, except teach him like I was suppose to."

Tsunade snorted. "Please, he doesn't want to train with you anymore."

"Did he tell you that?" he asked, a little sad.

"No he didn't," she admitted, "but I could tell that he doesn't want to train with you."

Jiraiya became depressed when he heard that. "Looks like I screwed up…."

"Yes you did." stated Tsunade with no remorse. Jiraiya deserved it, and even he himself knew that he did.

"Well, I'll just see what he learned, and hopefully he'll give me another chance."

"I doubt it…" muttered Tsunade which Jiraiya ignored.

"Did you tell anyone else that he's back?" he asked her.

Tsunade shook her head. "No. His friends will find out eventually, but some _people _already know."

Jiraiya knew who she was talking about. "They know, huh…."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes they do. They came here earlier asking me what I was going to do about it."

"How are you going to test him anyway?"

"I'll have Kakashi test both him and Sakura. Well, he already knows what to expect from Sakura, but that's not the point. Learning what Naruto knows is the key here."

"Yeah you're right," agreed Jiraiya.

"TSUNADE-SAMA!" screamed Shizune on the other side of the broken wall.

'Shit…..'

* * *

><p>"<strong>Are you ready Naruto-kun?"<strong>

'Best as I'll ever be,' he answered with no enthusiasm. He was currently on his way to his old team's training ground.

Kushina sighed at this. **"Be a little bit more positive. Besides, we have to find a way to get to Danzo."**

**"Your mother is right, brat. That's the tricky part here."**

'Well, I'm already inside the village. If I could only get a spy inside his organization, then everything would be more easy.'

**"You could always seduce one of his female subordinates,"** suggested Kurama.

Kushina silently growled when she heard this. Wether from being a protective mother, or being jealous, she didn't know.

'That could possibly work,' agreed Naruto, 'but the problem is that we have to find one first. And I'm sure that he doesn't let them walk around the village freely.'

**"Yes that is a problem…."**

**"We'll worry about that later!" **interrupted Kushina, annoyance clearly on her voice. **"Right now focus on defeating whoever it is that you're going to face without showing too much of what you learned."**

'I know that. But I do wonder who I'm going to face….'

As he arrived at the training field, he immediately recognized a familiar face. 'Well she's grown.'

Sakura, when she spotted the familiar spiky blond hair and whiskers, gasped. "N-n-naruto? I-i-is that y-you?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow when she spoke. 'She stutters like Hinata….weird.'

**"I say it's contagious," **stated Kurama.

"Yes it's me."

Sakura took in his new appearance and blushed. 'He looks handsome….but wait!' "When did you get back!?"

"Last night."

"Why did you leave the village!?" she screamed, ignoring the first question she asked, as well as the answer.

"I was on a training trip remember?" he answered sarcastically as he went to one of the trees and sat under it's shade.

"But Tsunade-sama said…"

"Forget it," he interrupted, "I don't have to explain myself to you."

Sakura became shock at what she heard, and most of all hurt. 'He's not the same Naruto that I knew….'

**"That was cold,"** commented Kurama.

'Like I care.'

Kushina, having view most of her son's memories, knew that he had once had a crush on the girl before him. But it would seem that that was dead too. **'I shouldn't be surprised…but why am I relieve?' **she wondered to herself.

'So he showed up on time….'

Kakashi, who had been told about Naruto's return by Tsunade, appeared on top one of the tree's branches that Naruto was currently resting on. "Yo." he said and gave his usual eye smile.

Sakura, who was still trying to come to terms with the new Naruto, jumped in surprise. "Kakashi-sensei!"

"Better pull yourself together Sakura. We have a test to commence," said Kakashi as Naruto stood up and walked next to Sakura.

"Test?" repeated Sakura, confused.

Naruto already knew what it was.

"Yes. Since Naruto returned from his training trip, I want to see if you two can still work as a team." Naruto knew that was just a lie. 'They just want to know what I'm capable of. Too bad they won't find out till it's too late.'

Sakura nodded. "I understand," she determinately, glancing at Naruto, who looked bored.

'Tsunade-sama did say he changed,' thought Kakashi a little worried, although he didn't show it. "Alright," he began placing a clock on one of the posts. "You have till nine PM to get one of the bells." Sakura adjust her battle gloves, while Naruto still looked bored.

Kakashi uncovered his sharingan eye. "And remember to come with the intent to kill me."

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune who was currently holding Tonton, watched everything from a safe distance. "Well now we'll see what the brat learned….and he really has changed! He looks just like his father…."

Tsunade nodded. "Yeah. And the test begins…."

* * *

><p>"What is it now?"<p>

**"Things are starting to get too complicated."**

Tobi turned his head from the view of the lake to looking at Zetsu. "What are you talking about?"

"There's another uchiha," answered white zetsu, "and this one seems to posses your ocular powers."

Tobi's eye narrowed at that. 'So you're still alive….' "Where did you see him?"

**"At Taki. He disposed of Kakuzu and Hidan."** "Probably already killed them."

"And what of the nanabi jinchuriki?"

**"He took her with him. And there appears to be more of them."** "It's likely that he along with the uchiha woman, Itachi, and who knows who else are working together."

Tobi clenched his hands together in anger. 'My plan will not fail! I will not allow him to ruin it!' He stood up. "This is starting to get on my nerves."

**"What will you do?"**

"The sanbi is nearby. Once we have sealed it, we shall focus on these….nuisances."

**"Understood."**

Tobi turned back to stare at the water of the lake in front of him.

_"So, you're going to go through with this plan of yours, aren't you?"_

_"Of course I am! This is my goal, a world where everyone is the same, where everyone is one, and it doesn't matter who or what you are!"_

_"It's ridiculous and childish...but I guess in a way you are a child."_

_"Don't belittle me! Just because you created me doesn't mean a thing!"_

_"I didn't create you. You are merely a mistake, a shadow of what you really are..."_

_"I'll show you! Once my world is created, you will know that you were wrong! The whole world will know that they were wrong!"_

_"And that's where it is childish...you are merely trying to prove your existence, when in fact your existence means nothing. You are nothing. You are no one. And no matter what you do, no matter what you say, even if you accomplish your plan, you will still be nothing. Nothing but a fake."_

His sharingan flared. 'I will kill you Uchiha Obito. That's a promise.'

* * *

><p><strong>Yo!<strong>

**I wanted to get this out as soon as possible, and here it is! Hope you all enjoy it. I certainly do enjoy writing this. And now school starts again!….what a pain in the ass. With this, my updates will become irregular, so I have no idea when I'll update, but I'll try to do it as soon as possible. With that said, I have no idea when my next update will be, but hopefully it'll be soon.**

**Also, don't jump into conclusions about Obito and Tobi. I think that maybe some of you have figured it out as to what exactly happened with those two, but to those who don't, don't judge till everything is revealed.**

**And REVIEW!**

**Ja ne**


	20. A Team again or are we?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed beast, Summoning, Black Zetsu, Kushina<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 19: A team again…or are we?<strong>

Silence.

No sound could be heard within the old team 7 training ground with the exception of leaves rustling due to a soft breeze blowing. Not to mention the tense atmosphere that came with it.

Kakashi, with his sharingan activated, stared at two of his old students from across the field, ready to defend when they attacked. He was merely there to test both of them and see how stronger they had gotten, especially Naruto since no one knew where he had been for the past two years or what he had learned. So he merely waited to see what they would do, hoping that they would work as a team.

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune who was holding Tonton were anxiously waiting to see what would happen. They were a safe distance away watching from a tree branch.

"It's been almost five minutes," muttered Jiraiya, "why aren't they doing anything?"

"Kakashi is merely evaluating them," said Tsunade, "so he has no reason to attack, for now at least. Although the fact that Naruto hasn't jumped in and attacked yet…that's surprising."

Shizune nodded silently, worried at the change of personality of Naruto.

Jiraiya sighed. "You're right about that. I just hope we get to see something here."

"That's the whole point of this…." muttered Tsunade to herself.

Back with Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto, the atmosphere was more tense.

Sakura gulped and adjusted her gloves. She glanced at Naruto, taking in his calm posture. 'He's not worried in the least!' she thought to herself. She then looked back at Kakashi. 'I'll worry about that later. First, we have to get those bells from Kakashi-sensei. Easier said then done. But we're gonna have to do something sooner or later.'

**"You know brat, standing still doing nothing will not help you get past this," **commented Kurama within Naruto's mind.

'Well if they think I'm gonna make the first move then they're seriously mistaken,' responded Naruto.

**"Yes but if the Haruno girl or Kakashi don't do something, then you'll probably not have a choice," **said Kushina.

Naruto mentally sighed. 'I know. And that's what's annoying me. We have more important things to do then this.'

**"Then do something already!"** screamed Kurama.

Naruto didn't respond to that. Rather he glanced sideways at Sakura before turning his attention back to Kakashi. A few more seconds of nothingness, and he reached his limit. 'Screw this!'

The next thing everyone saw was Kakashi flying back right into a tree and Naruto occupying the spot with his leg raised up, having delivered a powerful kick to Kakashi. **"What was that about you not making the first move?" **asked Kushina amused, to which Naruto ignored.

"Fast!" said Jiraiya with wide eyes. "I barely saw him move!"

Tsunade was in a similar state along with Shizune. 'So the brat did learn something…' thought Tsunade.

Sakura could only stare at Naruto's back with wide eyes. 'How did he….?'

Kakashi stood up holding his stomach and wincing. He then looked at Naruto. 'He caught me off guard,' he thought, wincing some more. 'I didn't expect him to be this fast. And the force in that kick, while not at Tsunade's level, it still hurts like a bitch. I can't let him hit me much more or else it won't end well. But now that I know how fast he is….'

"Sakura," said Naruto, making said kunoichi look at him. "Aren't you going to do something? Or do you expect me to do all the work….again," he finished without turning to look at her.

Sakura's eyes widened, hell everyone's did, even Kushina's. But not Kurama's. **"You know brat, if you're trying to get my approval, just say so."**

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes at his bijuu.

"What…?" said Sakura, shocked.

Naruto sighed. 'I'll take that as a no.'

Kakashi, who was staring wide eyed at what Naruto had said, wasn't prepared when Naruto appeared right behind him. "If you get distracted," began Naruto, his eyes turning crimson, "then you'll die." He grabbed Kakashi by the shoulder and threw him back. When he turned his hands were already performing hand signs.

'That's…!' thought Kakashi alarmed.

**"Wind Style: Daitoppa."**

The attack hit Kakashi straight on.

"Kakashi-sensei!" screamed Sakura, coming out of her shock.

A log broken in half is what came out. 'No way Kakashi was gonna be taken out with that simple jutsu, but now he knows I'm serious,' thought Naruto.

Sakura sighed in relief, before turning her attention to Naruto. "Why did you that!? It could have killed him!"

Naruto merely ignored her. 'So he wants us to chase him,' he thought.

**"Let's just find him to finish this," **grumbled Kurama.

Naruto jumped into the forest, Sakura following him, not pleased that he ignored her.

"Tsunade-sama," said Shizune looking at her mentor.

"The brat has certainly learned stuff," she said.

"Something tells me we haven't seen nothing yet," muttered Jiraiya, the two women agreeing.

* * *

><p>"So the little punk sent you?"<p>

Mikoto nodded, taking in the shocked look that the raikage was given her to her own private amusement.

A grumbled something under his breath before turning his attention to Yugito. "And you're here why?" Yugito knew that he was referring to the fact as to why she wasn't with Naruto when he told her to.

"Well you see…" began Yugito, only to be interrupted by Mikoto. "It was for the best," she said, smiling sweetly. "Besides, aren't you happy that she's here in kumo where you know she's safe?" Yugito glared at Mikoto for being interrupted, but didn't say anything.

A leaned back in his chair. 'If she thinks I'm gonna fall for that….' he thought. "Yes, well, the brat and I had come to an agreement that Yugito would be there to assist him."

"Oh, but she is," said Mikoto. A raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You see both Naruto and me are working together," she continued, "so the fact that she's here helping me means that she's also helping Naruto."

A sighed. "So then, why exactly are you here then?"

Mikoto turned serious. This was the tricky part. "I'm here because we need the hachibi jinchuriki."

A narrowed his eyes at that. "I already allowed for Yugito to help you, and now you're telling me that you want me to give you my other jinchuriki as well? That's insane."

Mikoto smirked. "Not if it helps you to get what you want."

"Oh? Just what is it that I want?" he asked rhetorically.

"Why, the byakugan of course," she answered.

"Now tell me, just how giving you my other jinchuriki is going to help me get the byakugan?"

'Of all the stupid questions,' thought Mikoto. "It's the whole reason you agreed to help Naruto in the first place." She smirked again, not letting any of her real thoughts come out. "I know for a fact that you have never believed that he can achieve what he's after. But you figured since he has the kyuubi that he would be able to cause a lot of commotion before he was brought down. And during that commotion you would be able to get the byakugan. Nobody would know, and konoha would believe that it was just Naruto acting on his own. And most of all, you get the byakugan."

A stared at her silently. 'Who is this woman?' he asked himself. He glanced at Yugito who had a frown on her face. 'She never mentioned anything about her. I'm going to have to ask her later.'

"So what do you say?" asked Mikoto, bringing his attention back to her.

"If I do agree to this, konoha will surely know that we helped Uzumaki," he said.

Mikoto shrugged. "You took that chance when you agreed for Yugito to accompany him. Besides," Mikoto smirked darkly, "why would you care about what konoha thinks if they're destroyed?"

A's eyes bugged out. "What the hell are you talking about!" he screamed, losing his composure.

'Again with the stupid questions,' thought Mikoto, who was starting to get irritated. "Would you mind?" she said to Yugito. Yugito looked at her confused. Mikoto motioned her head towards the door, and understood. Yugito looked at the raikage, who nodded.

Once she was out the door, Mikoto turned towards the raikage. 'No anbu in here. Good….' "You already know that Naruto wants to destroy konoha."

A snorted. "Like the brat's going to succeed."

"Not if you truly help him. Konoha doesn't have their jinchuriki, and you with the nibi, hachibi, and kyuubi…well it's pretty obvious who would win."

'She's right,' he thought reluctantly. But that didn't mean he was going to say yes. Bee was his little brother and there was no way he was going to risk sending him out, even if victory was almost absolute.

"Look," he began, "with the nibi and kyuubi it should be enough." He didn't see how Mikoto's eyes narrowed. "I'll even send some anbu squads to help you." Of course they wouldn't. They, along with Yugito, would just sneak in and capture a hyuga, preferably the heiress, and then sneak out back to kumo.

Then Mikoto did something unexpected….she laughed. Hard. A stared at the laughing woman, annoyed. "Just what's so funny?"

Mikoto calmed herself. "To think that you would actually believe that I'm an idiot of course!" She smirked darkly again. "I am sorry to say though that I can't take no as an answer."

A prepared to defend himself. "Well I'm sorry to say that this is my final decision."

Mikoto chuckled as she closed her eyes. "Yes," she opened them, sharingan activated, "It is your last!"

The raikage's world went blank.

* * *

><p><strong>"Lighting Style: Jibashi."<strong>

**"Earth Style: Doryuheki!"**

Kakashi jumped out of the way of the electric current as it destroyed his earth wall. He blocked a series of punches and kicks and jumped back, panting slightly. 'He knows lighting style as well?' he thought.

He didn't get to think anything else as he was on the defense again, engaging Naruto in a taijutsu battle.

He ducked from a high kick, and attempted to slide into Naruto's other foot, but Naruto jumped out of the way.

A familiar sound reached Kakashi's ears. 'That's the….!'

**"Rasengan!"**

Sakura arrived to seeing Naruto in the air coming down on Kakashi with a rasengan on his right hand. She shielded herself from the blast before looking around.

'Another fucking clone,' though Naruto as he stood up. 'That's the third one.'

**"This guy is starting to annoy me," ** stated Kurama, and Naruto agreed.

**"That's Kakashi's objective," **said Kushina**, "to see what you have learned. And what better way to do that then with clones?"**

**"How about for him to stop being a coward and to face us directly!"**

Kushina sighed. **"He can't regenerate lost body parts like you you know…."**

Kurama h'mphed at that. **"Of course he can't. He's not cool enough for that."**

Kushina sweatdropped.

Sakura stopped next to Naruto, looking around. While still annoyed at how he was treating her, she knew that she had to concentrate here. 'He's not above, behind, to the sides, or in front of us. That leaves….' She brought her fist down and the end result caused Naruto to raise an eyebrow. The ground in front of them shattered like an earthquake had just hit.

**"Well, she's not so useless…."** muttered Kurama.

**'That's Tsunade's technique,'** thought Kushina. **'So she taught it to this girl, huh?'**

'It seems she did learn something these past years,' thought Naruto.

Kakashi jumped out of the crater. 'Damn, I almost forgot about Sakura here and her super strength. One hit and that's it.'

"There you are, Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura with a smile.

"Yes, I'm…." Kakashi didn't get to finish as he was once again kicked in the guts by Naruto. But unlike last time, Naruto held him there.

"Don't forget about me Kakashi," said Naruto darkly. Kakashi, who was in pain, didn't detect the lack of 'sensei.'

'Now to end this…' **'Lighting Style: Hiraishin.' (Note: It's not the Flying Thunder God technique.)**

Kakashi screamed in pain as the bolt of current came into contact with him.

'And for good measure.' **'Wind Style: Rasengan.'** This time Kakashi did fly back, unconscious.

"No way…." muttered Jiraiya. 'Could he have actually perfected it…?' he thought to himself.

Naruto calmly walked over to Kakashi's unconscious body, and picked up both bells. He threw one to a shocked Sakura, who barely caught it in time.

**"Finally,"** said Kurama.

**"I think you overdid it with that last one," **said Kushina.

'Maybe….'

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune landed in front of them. "Good job you two," congratulated Tsunade.

**"Even though you did all the work,"** commented Kurama.

Jiraiya was staring intently at Naruto, who was ignoring him.

"Now you three will be join to form Team 7 again!" said Tsunade. Sakura smiled at that. 'That just leaves Sasuke-kun.' But then something came to her attention. "Wait, what about Kakashi-sensei?"

"Shizune, if you please," said Tsunade to her assistant, who nodded. She went over to Kakashi's body and, along with Tonton, disappeared.

"It seems your training trip proved to be fruitful after all," commented Tsunade to Naruto.

Naruto merely nodded.

"Naruto…" began Jiraiya, but he merely raised his hand. "We have nothing to talk about." Jiraiya sighed at that. 'I shouldn't push him right now,' he thought.

**"You're mad at him?"** asked Kushina.

'Of course. But not for what you're thinking,' answered Naruto.

Sakura looked back and forth between the two and Tsunade merely had her eyes closed. "Now then," she began, opening them, "you two are dismissed, and once Kakashi is cleared you three will be able to take missions." They both nodded.

Tsunade and Jiraiya, the latter reluctantly, walked away. They had much to discuss after all.

Once the two were out of sight, Sakura turned to look at Naruto, who was also walking away. "Wait, Naruto!" she said, running to catch up to him.

Naruto stopped and turned to look at her. "What?" he said, as she stopped in front of him.

Sakura frowned slightly at his toned, but then smiled. "Well we're a team again! And we haven't seen each other for two years now, so I was thinking if you wanted to hang to catch up?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this. 'Well, this is unexpected….'

**"I was half expecting her to be screaming at you for your attitude,"** said Kurama.

Kushina stayed quiet, waiting to see what her son would choose.

Naruto sighed. 'Two years ago, I would have been screaming around jumping in joy, but now….' He looked at her straight in the eyes. "No." He then turned and started to walk again.

Sakura's eyes were wide now, alright. "B-but w-w-why?"

Naruto stopped, turned a bit, and answered, "Because…..I don't like you." He disappeared.

Sakura felt tears starting to form.

* * *

><p>"Is this information accurate?"<p>

**"Yes."**

Tobi smirked, not that either Black or White Zetsu could see. "Then he'll make a fine addition."

**"You're going to recruit him?"**

Tobi nodded. "Of course. Akatsuki is low on man-power, and there's still quite a few tailed beasts left."

**"But this guy…."**

"He might be even worse than Orochimaru," finished white zetsu.

Tobi shrugged. "He's just a pawn. Just like Orochimaru was. And just like Orochimaru he will die once his usefulness comes to an end."

"Alright then," said white zetsu with a chuckle. His counterpart remained silent.

Tobi started to teleport away. "Go to iwa and recruit Kabuto. The rest will seal the sanbi. And I will not tolerate failure." With that, he disappeared completely.

* * *

><p>Pain turned towards the newly arrived Tobi.<p>

"Well?" said Pain.

"Zetsu is on his way to recruit Kabuto in iwa," he answered.

"Are you sure about this? We don't need another incident like with Orochimaru especially in this critical stage."

Tobi nodded. "Of course. But you have nothing to worry about. I'm sure he'll do exactly what he need him to do."

"And how do you know that?"

Tobi chuckled. "You don't have any faith in me, do you?" Pain said nothing. Tobi sighed at that. So much for trying to lighten the mood. Hell he was the one who need it! "He will because I know exactly what he wants, and working with akatsuki is the best way to get that."

Pain contemplated that for a few moments. "It's nothing for you to worry about," said Tobi, "for now we need to seal the sanbi."

"It will take longer without Kakuzu, Hidan, and now Zetsu."

Tobi's mood darkened at the reminder of the incident in taki. "Yes it will," he admitted, "but now we have no intruders so we have plenty of time."

Pain nodded and began to walk towards where the sanbi was to be sealed, Tobi right behind him. 'As long as I have the rinnegan on my side, I can't lose. Although it would be better if it were under my possession, but for now it's more convenient for him to have it. For now...' He chuckled to himself. 'Once I have it, Obito, you will die.'

* * *

><p>"Are we ready?"<p>

Both Suigetsu and Karin nodded.

Sasuke smirked and the three began to walk out of the hideout. "Alright," his Eternal activated, "then lets go. Our destination is iwa."

* * *

><p>"You should stop drinking," suggested Tsunade.<p>

Currently she and Jiraiya were in one of the many bars in konoha. Jiraiya gulped another shot of sake down. "And why should I?" he said, as he filled another cup. "The person who is my godson doesn't want anything to do with me and possibly hates me. Oh yeah, I should be celebrating," he finished sarcastically as he drank the refilled cup in one go.

Tsunade sighed. "Yes but it is your fault."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Oh yeah, thanks for trying to cheer me up."

"I wasn't," admitted Tsunade. "But drinking is not going to solve your problem."

Jiraiya snorted. "Never thought I would hear this from you. After all, weren't you the one that tried to solve your problems with drinking AND gambling?"

Tsunade shrugged. "Exactly, which is why I'm the perfect person to tell you that it is not the best course of action."

"Then what should I do?" he asked, irritated.

Tsunade sighed. "Give him time. The brat ain't exactly one that holds grudges."

"That was in the past, Tsunade. Now..." he looked down at his drink, "now I don't know who he is anymore. I can barely even recognize him."

"That makes two of us," agreed Tsunade, "but instead of moping we should try to figure out how to be close to him like we were."

"I don't think that's even possible anymore," muttered Jiraiya.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, stood up, reached over the table, and grabbed him by the collar, bringing him straight to her face. "Look, I know your depressed and frustrated, but I will not watch you go emo on me? You got that?"

Jiraiya looked at her shocked for a few seconds, before he smirked. "You know what would help me, if you let me touch your breasts."

Tsunade let go of him and sat back down. "Yeah, you're feeling better alright."

Jiraiya chuckled for a few more moments, before he turned serious. "I'm going to fix this."

Tsunade shook her head. "No. _We_are going to fix this. All of us. Not just for Naruto, but for the uzumaki clan as well."

Jiraiya raised his glass along with Tsunade. "Amen to that." 'I just hope we're not too late...' he added mentally.

* * *

><p>Naruto was currently standing on top of the shodai's face on the Hokage Monument.<p>

**"Even I have to say that was cold," **said Kurama, referring to what his host had said to Sakura.

Naruto shrugged. 'It's not important. There are more important things that need to be done.'

**"Well, what will our first move be?"** asked Kushina.

Naruto smirked as he gazed down at the village. 'Danzo….we're going to need to know what he's up to and where to find him.'

**"A spy…."** muttered Kushina.

**"How are we going to do this?"** asked Kurama who for once was at a lost.

Naruto's smirked remained. 'Don't worry. I'm known for having extremely good luck. I'm sure something will show up.'

**"That's it?" **asked Kurama incredulously. **"We're leaving everything to luck!? You should have going with the girl then."** Kushina narrowed her eyes at the fox within the seal, making the bijuu shut up.

'Of course not,' said Naruto. 'For now, it's time to gather allies within the village.' Both Kurama and Kushina gained a look of understudying.

**"How?"** asked Kushina.

'Leave that to me,' was the response she got.

He focused his attention back at the village, his eyes becoming crimson. 'Yes, I already have a few people in mind.'

* * *

><p><strong>YO! Happy Christmas…which is late….and Happy New years….also kinda late.<strong>

**Man, how long has it been? Two months? More? Yeah, I know that all of you must be pissed at me, and I apologize. But I haven't had much free time lately with school and social life. Especially since I've become more active in school this year, joining clubs and stuff. Don't know why but I did. And when I did have free time, well I was too lazy. But here I am!**

**And what's up with Kishimoto killing Neji? I mean, couldn't he have taken someone else? Like Sakura?….If I made anyone pissed…meh just flame me or something I don't care. And it's Naruto/Hinata. Don't know what to say about that.**

**New AN: I'm not talking about this story! I'm talking about the official release here. The pairing is still undecided.**

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and REVIEW!**

**Till next time….whenever that is…..**


	21. Truth pt I

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beast, Summoning, Kushina, Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 20: Truth<strong>

It was currently night time. The busy streets of konoha that are usually filled with civilians going about their business were almost nearly empty. An occasional group could be seen here and there, but most were already home or heading home to call it a day and rest for the next day.

But not one Uzumaki Naruto, jinchuriki of the legendary kyuubi.

Said bijuu was currently grumbling at the moment. **"Took enough for this day to end. I swear it's like the days are getting longer or something."**

**"Would you stop moping?"** said Kushina, mother of Naruto, annoyed. **"I mean you're the strongest of the bijuu, yet you act like a child. Behave will you?"**

Kurama merely rolled his eyes at his previous host and mother to his current one. **"When you're as powerful as I am, you find out that you get to act however you feel like it, regardless of what others think of it."**

Kushina held her head in her hands, feeling a headache coming. **"And why is that?" **she asked.

Kurama shrugged. **"Simple. You can simply killed them if they annoy you too much about it."**

Kushina sighed. **'I should have guessed that would have been his answer,'** she thought to herself.

'Enough playing around. We're almost there,' said Naruto as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

**"Are you sure about this?"** asked Kushina, bringing her attention to her son and forgetting the little argument she was having with a giant fox for the moment. **"I mean, I know it would be better if we had more people on our side, especially that are inside the village, but I don't think he's a good choice and you'll be force to kill him afterwards which would cause even more problems."**

**"What's wrong with killing people?"** asked Kurama.

Kushina took a glance at him. **"I'm not even going to answer that."**

Kurama grinned. **"But you just did."**

**"Alright that does it!"** screamed Kushina. She had reached her limit. She started to walk menacingly towards the strongest of the bijuu, her hair moving to form what looked like nine tails behind her back. This was the famous "**Red Hot Habanero**" ready to take down her prey. Kurama didn't even bat an eye.

'I said cut it out,' said Naruto in a commanding voice. 'You two can play around later. This is important.'

Kushina narrowed her eyes at the fox, promising pain. Kurama merely shrugged again before switching his attention to his container. **"What makes you so sure this guy will agree to this? I mean, in the past I would of said yes, but after your fight with him, his hatred disappeared,"** he said, not understanding how his host planned to make this work.

Naruto chuckled. 'Please, Kurama, if there is one thing that you and I can agree on is that both hatred and darkness will always exist, no matter how little it could be, they will always be there. They're part of human nature after all.'

**"But still,"** began Kushina, joining in**, "I've seen your memories and I have to agree with Kyuubi on this. It looks like he's forgiven his clan after you fought him. He will be of no use."**

Naruto shook his head. 'You're wrong,' he said, 'I know him. I know he hasn't forgiving them completely. He's trying, I'll give him that, but not entirely so.'

**"But that was two years ago, almost three now," **said Kurama**, "he could have changed more than you think."**

'No,' responded Naruto, 'with the hatred and bitterness that he had, it will take much longer than that for it to fade away, if at all. It's the same with Sasuke and me. Time amplifies these emotions, making them more powerful. Besides,' Naruto shrugged, 'I have something that I'm sure he can't turn down.'

**"And that is?"** asked Kushina, suspicious as to where her son was going with this.

Naruto smirked. 'Why take revenge on the very people that took his father away.'

Kushina's eyes widened. **"You can't mean…!"**

'Yes I am,' agreed Naruto, his smirk still in place.

Kurama laughed. **"I have to say brat, I'm impressed. Two years ago I never would have thought that you had this in you."**

'I appreciate the compliment.'

Kushina sighed. **'He thinks that's a compliment?' **she thought. **"But wait a second," **she said, her eyes narrowing**, "I thought they were you're allies?"**

Naruto sighed. 'I already told you-I don't trust anyone right now. I knew from the beginning that they had their own agenda. The raikage isn't going to risk anything simply for a brat like me,' he said, his eyes rolling in annoyance at that thought.

**"You know kumo is not with you?" **asked Kushina in bewilderment.

'Of course,' he answered, 'I'm not an idiot. I'm pretty sure all the raikage wants is the byakugan and would simply use me as a diversion.'

**"Then that means we don't have a village backing us up!" **said Kushina in alarm. **"And if you knew this, then why did you accept the proposal in the first place!?"**

'I didn't have much choice,' said Naruto, his eyes narrowing, 'I already told you that kumo is the best choice right now. I also got the nibi on my side as well. There's also the fact that the raikage would cover me before I initiate my attack as long as it isn't too big. I'm his best ticket for getting what kumo has always wanted, and also add that I contain you Kurama. He might even try to seal you out of me and seal you into another future kumo shinobi. But now, I have the perfect way of getting some use out of them.'

**"You don't care about them?"** asked Kushina quietly.

Naruto snorted. 'Of course I don't. I like to think of this as a side dish to my main meal.'

**"What do you mean by that?" **she asked, confused.

'I know that they try to kidnap you once in the past,' he answered quietly making Kushina's eyes widened. She then turned to Kurama with an angry look on her face.

**'Why am I the one getting that look?' **asked the bijuu to himself. **'Hell, I've been quiet!'**

"Why did you tell him!" said Kushina.

'Why didn't you want me to know?' he asked her before Kurama could speak. 'After all, I've allowed you to see and know my past. Why can't you let me have the same courtesy?'

Kushina sighed. **"It's not that I don't want you to know about my past. There's just certain things that I'd rather not remember."**

'You think it's not the same for me?' he said back to her. 'But I've given you some trust in letting you know about all my past.' Kushina's eyes widened again at that. 'But it seems you can't return it….' **"No!" **interrupted Kushina. She shook her head. **"You're right,"** she said softly**, "it's not fair for me to know all aspects of your past but for you not to know mine."**

A small smile formed on Naruto's face before it disappeared. 'Good. But now you should now know what I mean. I'm sure you're going to take some small pleasure in this too.'

Kushina chuckled. **"I'd be lying if I said I'm not going to."**

Kurama grumbled quietly to himself. **'Oh yeah, be a bitch to the giant fox, but act all nice to the blond idiot.'**

'We're here,' said Naruto as he landed in front of the hyuuga compound.

Kushina sighed once more. **"I hope you know what you're doing…."**

**"It's going to be something all right," **said Kurama.

'Oh yeah,' agreed Naruto as one of the guards approached him, 'but getting Neji on my side will make for a very good first move.'

* * *

><p>"No one is here," observed Fu as she walked next to Obito inside the Uchiha compound. This one was not the same as the one he and the others had occupied, but structurally it could be said that it was identical.<p>

Obito nodded. "Yes. Currently everyone else has something that needs to be taken care of."

"Then what are we going to do?" asked Fu.

"That's what we're here to find out," he answered. Before Fu could ask him what he meant, Obito opened a door that lead to a room to which Fu would say was a meeting room. In the middle was a very big round table, with chairs all around it. The only light source were candles that were lit, something which Fu pondered. 'How long have they been lit?' she thought. But then she remembered hearing that the uchiha clan were masters of the fire style, so it wouldn't be surprising if they had some jutsu that kept the candles lit.

Obito walked inside, Fu following him. He stopped in front of the table, and took something out of his kunai pouch. It looked like a small disc to Fu. The next thing that happened had Fu jumping and screaming. You see, as soon as Obito placed the 'disc' on the table, a figure appeared.

**"My," **said the voice, amused and clearly female**, "I didn't think I was that scary."** Of course she was referring to Fu's reaction.

Obito sighed. "You're not," he said, "she's just never seen something like this before."

The figure shrugged. **"I suppose."**

"Umm… excuse me," said Fu unsurely, raising her hand.

"What?" asked Obito.

"Not to be rude, but what is that?" she asked, pointing to the figure.

**"Where are my manners. My name is Uchiha Mikoto and this is a hologram."**

Fu tilted her head to the side. "What's that?"

"It's a device that allows the user's mind to appear as if he or she were at the location that it's set up," answered Obito.

**"To be honest, you look the same to me as you see me."**

Fu blushed from embarrassment. "Oh, ok," she said quietly.

**"I take it she's the jinchuriki of the nanabi?"**

Obito nodded. "Yeah, so I accomplished my end. What about you."

**"I'm heading to iwa with both the hachibi and nibi jinchuriki as planned, but…."**

"But what?" asked Obito. Fu perked up when she heard that two other jinchurikis were there.

Mikoto sighed. **"There were some alternations."**

Obito raised an eyebrow. "What kind of alternations?" he asked.

**"I had to put the raikage under a genjutsu."**

"You what!" said Obito.

**"I had no choice! The bastard wouldn't budge on letting the hachibi jinchuriki out as well as supporting us completely."**

Obito ran a hand trough his hair. "If he breaks free…."

**"He's not,"** her tone said that she was sure of it.

"How do you know that?" he asked her.

**"It was one of my stronger ones. You have to be a genjutsu specialist or have the sharingan and be highly proficient in it as well as with the byakugan."**

"What if someone were to detect it?"

**"I thought of that ok! Like I said, you would have to have the sharingan or the byakugan. And if by some chance someone does notice it's a triple layered one. So we're good."**

Obito sighed. "Well then that's done I suppose. I guess that leaves iwa."

**"Yes. Sasuke should be on his way by now. I'll contact you when we have accomplished what needs to be done there."**

"What about us? What should we do in the meantime?" asked Obito, referring to himself and Fu.

**"I heard that you have Kakuzu and Hidan under your possession, am I right?"**

Obito raised both eyebrows. "How do you know that? I didn't tell you."

Obito wasn't sure, but he thought he could see the grin on Mikoto's face on the hologram. **"Oh, I have my ways. But the important part is that they will be useful in getting Fu here in Konoha."**

Fu looked unsure about that. "Konoha? Why should I go there?" she asked.

**"We have someone in there that wouldn't mind having some backup…I think. In any case, it's better this way."**

"So what?" said Obito. "Should I just released them in konoha and let them chase Fu?" Fu didn't like the sound of that.

**"No, just Hidan. Both of them could cause more problems that we don't need at the moment."**

"Are you sure about this? I'm pretty sure Danzo would use this opportunity and try to get his hands on the nanabi."

**"Don't worry. Tsunade would never let that happen. Once you have accomplished that, I'll let you know what's next."**

"Yeah, yeah whatever…" muttered Obito.

**"And one last thing. Fu, do tell the blond idiot that I send my regards."** With that, the hologram disappeared.

"Blond idiot?" repeated Fu in confusion. "Who's that?"

"It's the kyuubi jinchuriki," answered Obito as he began to walk out.

Fu's eyes widened before catching up to Obito. "So the person I'm suppose to be backing up is…."

Obito chuckled. "I don't think he's gonna need it but you'll be safer this way." 'And you won't know too much.' Obito already had an idea as to what Mikoto wanted him to do after this.

Fu smiled. 'I guess I did make the right choice,' she thought as the two made their way out of the hideout and headed to Konoha.

* * *

><p>"Naruto?"<p>

Naruto turned to find one Hyuuga Neji staring at him in shock. Naruto mentally smirked. 'Wish I had a camera right now….'

Kurama chuckled. **"Don't worry. I already saved it." **Kushina stayed quiet, watching this unfold.

Naruto waved. "Yo. Long time no see, Neji."

Neji came out of his shock and tried to recompose himself. "I must admit, this is a surprise," he said. "We all thought you had left the village and would not come back."

Naruto already knew who the 'we' Neji was referring to. "Yeah, well, I was on a training trip that's all. And as you can see, I came back."

Neji eyed him, not believing him. Of course, this only made Naruto more amused. 'Yes, he's the perfect choice alright.'

"Well what do I owe this visit then? Especially at this our." he asked.

Naruto shrugged. "Just came to talk to you about some things," he answered.

"What things?"

Naruto looked him straight in the eyes. "Would you mind if we talked somewhere more….private."

Neji raised an eyebrow but complied. As he lead Naruto to the back gardens where no one was present especially at this hour, Neji glanced at him through his peripherals. 'Not only has his appearance changed,' Neji thought, looking at his new choice of clothing, 'but his attitude as well.'

When they reached them, Naruto looked around. "Are you there's no one that can hear us here?"

Neji nodded, although suspicious as to why the blond wanted privacy. "Yes. No one should disturb us here. Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

'Kurama….'

**"I know, I know. I'll tell you if anyone is coming."**

Naruto's face turned serious, no playfulness present at all, making Neji take a step back subconsciously. "I'll be frank with you Neji," he began, "the reason I gave you earlier as to why I left was bullshit."

Neji regained his composure again. "I thought as much," said Neji, "so I suppose then that you're here to tell me why you really left." Naruto nodded. "Which brings me to my next question," he took a pause, then continued, "why are you telling me this?"

Naruto smirked. "I'll get straight to the point. I want you to join me."

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Join you? Join you for what?"

"For that I'll have to start from the beginning," said Naruto. He paused, then continued. "At the beginning when I ditched Jiraiya, it really was just for training. I wanted, no want, to see how powerful I can become. And staying with the pervert clearly wasn't going to help me with that. So I traveled, and trained, and saw how the shinobi world is. But during that, I learned of something that changed everything."

Neji stayed silent, opting to listening what Naruto had to say since he wanted to know as well.

Naruto looked up at the stars. "I learned that this place, konoha, the same place that I called home and wanted to protect it no matter what betrayed my entire family."

Neji's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? You're an orphan."

Naruto looked at him. "So are you, yet you know your family. It's the same with me, except that I didn't know mine till about two years ago."

Neji didn't say anything to that. 'But what could konoha have done….' Voicing his question, he said, "You haven't told me how konoha betrayed your family."

Naruto shrugged. "It's pretty simple really. I suppose you haven't heard of the uzumaki clan?"

Neji shook his head, never having heard of an uzumaki clan.

Naruto shrugged again. "Well as I was saying it's simple. My clan was becoming too powerful. Too much in fact that it made the other nations wary. So iwa, kumo, and kiri decided to form a strike force to annihilate the clan. Konoha, who were _allies _to the uzumakis, found out about the attack before hand but decided not to do a single thing. Instead they decided to just watch my clan burn while they just sat back like the arrogant and lazy bastards they are."

As Naruto finished, Neji was in shock. Not that he could be blamed. I mean, it isn't everyday that one is told something that is most likely an S-rank secret. But then realization dawned upon Neji, now knowing what Naruto meant when he said that he wanted him to join him. "You want to destroy konoha don't you?" it was more of a statement really.

Naruto merely nodded.

Neji was silent for a few moments. "I understand where you're coming from," he finally said, "but unfortunately I fail to see why telling me this would help you in any way or that I would join you."

"What? The fact that they did this to my clan doesn't make you worry that they might do it to the hyuuga as well?" said Naruto sarcastically. "Or rather they have, but not on such a big scale."

"What are you talking about?" said Neji with narrowed eyes.

"Why, the death of your father of course."

Neji was in front of him instantly, grabbing him by the collar. "My father has nothing to do with this, understand?" he said darkly.

"Oh, my bad," said Naruto mockingly, "hit a soft spot have I?" He turned serious. "How do you I think I feel? At least you got to know your father, always had a clan to protect you, in a way. Me?" he chuckled without any humor. "Destiny wasn't so kind to me." Kushina closed her eyes, trying with all her willpower not to cry. Kurama just listened.

Neji let him go and took a couple of steps back. "Just what are you trying to get at?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm just stating facts. This village and even your own clan have fucked up your life as well."

Neji turned his head away. "You're wrong. My father chose what he wanted to do."

"In his mind maybe," retorted Naruto, "but this village has profited off of people like that for a while now." Itachi came to his mind. "Do you really think they couldn't find another way? Of course they could. They could have fought back. But when your father offered his solution they took it in a heartbeat. They don't care who they have to go over or have to sacrifice. Just like the Main Branch."

Neji turned to look at him. "You're wrong."

Naruto growled. "Stop being stubborn and accept it already. We both know you hate the Main Branch even to this day. I'm offering you a chance to get back at them. As well as…" he took a pause, "as well as show you how rotten this village really is."

"What are you talking about now?"

"My clan's destruction and letting your father died meaninglessly are just the beginning. There are more things."

Neji clenched his hands, becoming fists.

"Starting to understand? Protecting this place would be even more meaningless then what your father did."

"Then what did he die for!?" screamed Neji.

"For what he thought was right," answered Naruto, "but that right isn't the right that he was thinking of. But you….you have the choice to do it differently." Naruto extended his right hand towards Neji. "If you join me, you will know everything. That's all that I can promise you. Well that, and the chance to take this place down as well as take your revenge on kumo who started all of this."

Neji looked at the extended hand and then at Naruto. "I will know everything….?"

"Everything."

Neji took it.

* * *

><p>"Why do we have to bring this guy along!"<p>

Sasuke sighed as Karin went on screaming at Suigetsu again for being useless. They were currently resting per Suigetsu's request….again.

"It's that sword isn't it?" said Karin as she pointed at **Kubikiribocho **that's strapped on Suigetsu's back. "It's too heavy for you. You should just leave it behind!"

Suigetsu merely ignored her as he continued to drink his water. "Oi, Sasuke," he said, catching the young Uchiha's attention, "whatever happened to the **Samehada **that Kisame-sempai had?"

"Itachi sealed it away," he answered, remembering how he did the same to his curse mark and Orochimaru.

"What!" said Suigetsu in outrage. Sasuke merely let out one of his famous hmph and didn't say anything else. 'Fuck, there goes my dream,' thought Suigetsu bitterly. 'Maybe I should ditch them.' He took a glance at Karin who was staring at Sasuke blushing. 'Yeah I really should ditch.'

'We'll have to be there soon,' thought Sasuke. They were currently near the border that divided the Land of Fire from the Land of Earth. 'If kaa-san gets there before us….' Sasuke shuddered. "Alright let's go," he said standing up.

Karin quickly followed him as Sasuke began to walk away. 'Tch…' thought Suigetsu as he stood up. 'I wonder if Sasuke would try to kill me if did ditch?' He decided not to risk it so he began to walk following the other two. 'Besides, we're suppose to meet up with his mom right? I wouldn't mind seeing her again….'

'Why do I feel the need to cut someone in half?' thought Sasuke but decided not to dwell on it. Instead he continued on his way, not noticing the pair of eyes that were watching.

* * *

><p>Kabuto grinned as one of his snakes brought the report of what it had seen. 'So Sasuke-kun is coming here,' thought Kabuto as he readjusted his glasses. 'Interesting,' he thought, 'I wonder why though? Oh well, I doesn't matter. All that matters is me getting those eyes. Once I do I'll be closer to becoming as strong as the Rikudo Sennin. For that though, I'm going to need Naruto-kun as well.'<p>

He tilted his head to see all the bodies of iwa shinobi ranging from genin to anbu that were spread all around him. 'All in good time. I do almost have enough bodies for the **Edo-Tensei**. Onoki you old fool you have been a great help. I should leave soon though. No doubt someone will come after me. It would be a great chance to really test out my new powers but I'm not going to risk it yet.'

He stood up and started to laugh. Yes soon, he would have what he wanted.

* * *

><p><strong>"I have to say, brat, I wasn't expecting the Hyuuga to agree."<strong>

'I am unpredictable.'

Currently Naruto was flopped down on his bed in his apartment.

**"You should rest,"** said Kushina softly**, "we don't know what tomorrow is going to bring."**

'Yes, but Neji was just the first. Tomorrow...' agreed Naruto as he closed his eyes, succumbing to sleep quickly, today's event having taken a toll.

Kushina looked at Kurama. Kurama looked at her back. **"Why do I get the impression that you're hiding something?"** said Kushina.

Kurama shrugged. **"Maybe because of the history we share. I don't know,"** responded the bijuu.

Kushina looked at him for a few seconds before she disappeared, going deeper into Naruto's subconscious to rest as well.

Kurama looked at the spot Kushina was occupying before chuckling. He rested his head on his paws closing his eyes. '**If only you realize how important your son is Kushina. You would never believe me. Heh, I didn't believe it either. But you were right old man, soon we will all be together again. Just you wait, my brothers.' **With that last thought, the chakra entity succumbed to his own slumber.

* * *

><p><strong>YO!<strong>

**Surprised? Because I am. I didn't think I was going to update this quickly again but I was free so I decided why the hell not? I mean I kept you all waiting for awhile so I hope this is a good make up gift! If not….meh I don't know.**

**And just to make this clear the pairing of this story is still undecided. Hell, I even thought about it that much really. But it will come together.**

**Hope you all enjoyed and REVIEW!**

**Till next time!**


	22. Truth pt II

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beast, Summoning, Kushina, Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21: Truth pt. 2<strong>

"Go to hell, all of you!"

"But tsuchikage-sama…!"

"No buts! Now get the hell out of my office!"

One by one all the members of the council that were suppose to have a say in village matters both political and military wise walked out of the office of the sandaime tsuchikage, realizing that their leader wasn't going to listen to what they had to say.

Onoki, the sandaime tsuchikage, sighed, trying to calm himself down. 'Who are they to try to tell me what to do?' he thought bitterly to himself. 'I will not stop until whoever it is that has entered my nation and has made look life a fool be brought back here so that I may cut his head personally!'

From that thought alone, anyone could guess that he was not in the good mood. But why should he be? He's lost both of his jinchurikis, their respective bijuu along with them! And it was thanks to akatsuki.

'I should have never worked alongside that organization,' he thought angrily. He was referring to when he himself had hired akatsuki in the past. Of course, at that time he had no idea what their true purpose was. Hell, he still didn't know what it was! But at that time he just thought that they were just a group of mercenaries and nothing more. But time has shown him that he was wrong which caused him to lose his most important weapons.

And now this new problem shows up, killing his shinobi! His hands became fists at that thought. He was not about to let some upstart brat belittle him! He was the sandaime tsuchikage, the same person that fought on both the second and third shinobi war, having fought against legends such as the sandaime and yondaime hokage, and even the legendary Uchiha Madara himself! He was the apprentice of the nidaime tsuchikage and the only shinobi that possessed the legendary **Jinton**.

Yes, there was no way an upstart brat was gonna make a fool out of him! No matter how many shinobi he would have to sacrifice, he would capture the brat. And after he dealt with that little nuisance, he would focus his attention on akatsuki and would show them just how wrong they were if they thought they could cross him the way they did. And of course get both of his bijuus back.

'I might even be able to get some of the others that they have already caught,' he thought with a smirk before it vanished. First came the upstart, and then akatsuki.

* * *

><p>Kabuto knew something was wrong.<p>

He couldn't quite place it, but as soon as the sun started to rise, signifying the beginning of a new day, something in his gut told him that it was not going to be a good day for him. And he trusted his gut. It was the very thing that helped him to stay as Orochimaru's right hand man for so long, after all. And if it could accomplish something like that, well he better listen to it.

That was precisely why he was preparing to leave the Land of Earth. But before he left, he would have to run into Sasuke. After all, he wasn't going to waste this golden opportunity that was given to him on what seemed like a silver platter. He could almost feel himself possessing the very eyes that Orochimaru had always wanted, but never gotten.

He was so lost in thought, he didn't sense the arrival of zetsu.

"Found you at last," said white zetsu with a chuckle as they emerged from the ground next to Kabuto. Kabuto's response was instantaneous, jumping a good distance away from the legendary spy of akatsuki. "Jumpy, aren't you," he added with another chuckle.

Kabuto merely smirked. "Well this is a surprise. I didn't think akatsuki would have any interest in me," he said.

**"We don't have much choice at the moment," **said black zetsu, speaking for the first time.

"Well then, what does akatsuki want with me?" asked Kabuto. "Are you here to kill me?"

"Don't be ridiculous," said white zetsu with a grin, "why would we want to kill you?"

Kabuto shrugged. "I don't know. It just seems logical. After all, I pretty much know everything that Orochimaru-sama knew."

**"That may be, but like I said, we don't have much choice at the moment."**

Kabuto smirked again as he lowered his head. "I see. You're here to recruit me then."

**"Clever boy."**

"Yes you're right," continued his counterpart, "akatsuki is currently in need of more members."

"So you chose me?" Kabuto bowed mockingly. "I'm honored," he said sarcastically.

**"Don't push your luck boy. You're lucky that you've been chosen at all."**

"Don't you mean asked?" said Kabuto. "Oh yes, I remember now. You can't say no, can you? Because if you do, you would be simply killed. Oh yes, I am lucky," he finished chuckling.

Before either zetsu could retort, another person decided to make her presence known.

"Well isn't this a lovely surprise," said a voice from above them.

Both Kabuto and Zetsu turned and to zetsu's surprise and Kabuto's curiosity there stood Uchiha Mikoto standing on a tree branch with a smirk, both Yugito and Bee behind her.

White zetsu cursed. Black zetsu merely raised and nonexistent eyebrow. **'She's early….'**

"And who might you be?" asked Kabuto to Mikoto.

Mikoto placed her right hand on her hip. "Didn't your mother teach you that it's inappropriate to ask someone their name without giving your own?" she said like she talking to a four year-old.

Kabuto chuckled. "No, unfortunately she didn't," he answered with humor.

Mikoto sighed, shaking her head. "Well that's too bad. I guess I'm going have to teach you good manners aren't I?" she said, taking he sword out of….somewhere.

"We need to get out of here," said white zetsu to Kabuto.

Kabuto shook his head. "I think not. This is a perfect chance to try out the **Edo Tensei**."

'The **Edo Tensei** huh?' thought Mikoto. 'So that's what he's been up to.'

"Oi," said Yugito behind her, "are we really going to fight these guys?" she asked.

"Don't be afraid, kitty," said Bee with his usual carefree voice, "the eight tails is here!" **(AN: No I'm not trying to rap…I suck so no point in trying.)**

Yugito didn't bother trying to correct him for calling her 'kitty'. Mikoto merely ignored her question.

White zetsu looked at Kabuto. "Suit yourself then. Do know that akatsuki doesn't require your services anymore," said white zetsu as they started going underground.

Kabuto raised an eyebrow. "Really? And why is that?"

**"It doesn't require the services of dead men, that's why,"** finished his counterpart as they completely sunk underground.

Mikoto didn't bother trying to stop zetsu from leaving, instead keeping her attention on Kabuto.

For his part, Kabuto narrowed his eyes at the spot where zetsu had been, before turning to Mikoto. He narrowed his eyes more as he took in her appearance. 'She kinda looks like Sasuke-kun and Itachi….wait now that you mention it….' He chuckled before blowing up in complete laughter.

"What is he laughing at?" asked Yugito. Bee shrugged, not knowing.

Mikoto sighed, and before either Yugito and Bee knew it, she was right in front of Kabuto, sword raised and bringing down upon Kabuto. Kabuto blocked it with a kunai, a smirk in place. 'That was fast,' thought Yugito with wide eyes, Bee in a similar state. 'I didn't even see her move! I was right when I thought she was strong,' she finished with narrowed eyes.

Back with Kabuto and Mikoto, Kabuto still had his smirk. "Now I know who you are. I must say this is quite the surprise. Never thought I would meet the mother of the two people that destroyed Orochimaru-sama."

"I'm honor that you know who I am," said Mikoto with obvious sarcasm, "but really I need to be somewhere. So if you would just let me kill you without too much hassle I would really appreciate it."

Kabuto merely smirked again. "Too bad then because I have things to do as well. Till we meet again, Uchiha Mikoto." With that, the Kabuto in front of her turned into snakes.

Mikoto jumped back instantly. 'Motherfucker!' she thought angrily. 'He's just as slippery as Orochimaru. Although I don't know who's uglier…'

Yugito and Bee landed right next to her. "What was that about?" asked Yugito.

Mikoto looked at her before her sword disappeared…somehow. "Nothing for you to worry about. Now let's go. We have to get to iwa." Yugito glared at Mikoto's back as she started to walk away. Bee placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him. Bee shook his head, and Yugito shook his hand off before starting to walk as well. 'I know, I know, no killing the annoying bitch,' she thought angrily as the three made their way to iwa.

* * *

><p>Kabuto smirked to himself as he made his way out of the Land of Earth. It would seem that his gut was wrong for the first time. He didn't consider what had happened bad at all. Actually he thought it was wonderful! Of course he had heard the rumors that Uchiha Itachi's mother was still alive, but didn't believe them…till today. Even though he also wanted to test the <strong>Edo Tensei<strong>, it would be best if he tested it out on a weaker opponent first.**  
><strong>

Another downside would be not being able to get to Sasuke at the moment. There was no doubt in Kabuto's mind that the reason Sasuke was here was because of Mikoto. What was she planning? He didn't know, but he wasn't going to worry about it at the moment. He was sure there would be more chances to getting to Sasuke. This was just one of them, a good one that really wasn't a good one.

He stopped walking and sighed. 'So much for thinking I was free….'

"Seems you survived," said white zetsu as they appeared on a tree.

**"You got lucky. That's all."**

Kabuto merely shrugged. "Perhaps. But the important thing is that I'm alive. The means don't matter in that regard."

"I suppose," said white zetsu, "but it would seem that akatsuki will need your services after all."

Kabuto tilted his head. "And here I thought you didn't."

**"You aren't dead. So that counts for something. That's all."**

"If I were to join akatsuki, I will ask for something in return."

**"Tell that to Tobi."**

Kabuto chuckled. "Of course."

"Then let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>"Oi, brat, who's your second choice again?"<strong>

Naruto sighed as he calmly walked through the village. The streets were beginning to get crowded again as shops and stores began to open, and civilians went about to do whatever it was that they needed to get done for the day.

'Weren't you listening when I was speaking about it?' he asked his bijuu.

**"Nope. I was still in the process of becoming awake,"** answered Kurama truthfully.

Kushina sighed. **'And to think he's the scary kyuubi that parents tell their kids at nighttime so that they won't do anything bad. Hell, to think he's the one that almost destroyed the village almost sixteen years ago!'** she thought incredulously to herself.

Naruto chuckled as he neared the training ground where his target was located. 'Yes well then, I'll just leave it up for suspense for you.'

Kurama shrugged, not that Naruto could see. **"Whatever. I don't think it will be that suspenseful."**

'Probably,' agreed Naruto, 'she's really an obvious choice.'

**"What about your mission for today?"** asked Kushina. **"The message Tsunade sent…."**

'We've got plenty of time,' interrupted Naruto. 'Although I am surprised that Kakashi managed to recover this quickly. My **Wind Style: Rasengan **is really something someone doesn't heal that fast from.'

**"Don't forget that Tsunade is a medical specialist,"** reminded Kushina**, "and I'm sure that Haruno girl must know her stuff as well since it's obvious that she's Tsunade's apprentice as well as that other woman, Shizune. There's also plenty of other advanced medical shinobi in this village."**

Naruto nodded, agreeing. 'Yeah, I suppose you're right about that.'

**"Alright brat I can't take it anymore! Who is it!?"** screamed Kurama.

Both mother and son sweatdropped. 'Weren't you the one that said that it wasn't that suspenseful?' asked Naruto, amused.

**"Well since you two keep talking about it, it's only natural that I would snap,"** answered Kurama with a huff.

Kushina's eyebrows twitched. **"We weren't even talking about it…"**

Kurama paused at that. **"You weren't?"** he asked suspiciously.

Kushina could only sigh. **'Yep,' **she thought to herself**, 'I don't see the resemblance at all.'**

Naruto only chuckled again before turning serious. 'We're here,' he said as he stood in front of the gate that lead to Training Ground 44 aka "The Forest of Death" and the same place where he took his chunnin exam.

'This place sure brings memories,' thought Naruto, remembering what had happened here almost three years ago.

**"Are you sure she's in there?"** asked Kurama, already knowing who it was.

Naruto mentally nodded as he proceeded inside the training ground. 'Yeah. This is the place where she escapes from all the bullshit this village gives her.'

**"This won't be too hard then,"** said Kushina.

'It's not that it won't be hard,' began Naruto, 'but it just won't be as difficult as with Neji.'

**"Just plant a doubt, that's all,"** said Kurama with a chuckle.

Naruto was about to respond but was instead force to dodge a kunai. He turned towards where it was thrown from, except there wasn't anyone.

'So she wants to play then…' thought Naruto with a smirk as he took out a kunai.

It wasn't long before a barrage of both kunai and shuriken headed towards him. Naruto dodged most of them but blocked a few. He jumped upwards as Mitarashi Anko appeared at the spot he previously occupied with a kunai in hand. Naruto brought his own kunai forward as he landed, clashing with Anko's.

"Well," said Anko with a smirk, "you're not too bad brat."

Naruto smirked back. "I could say the same to you."

"Aww," said Anko with a fake blush, "you're making me blush." The she disappeared in a burst of smoke and Naruto felt a kunai aimed at his neck. "I would say I'm better than 'not too bad'," whispered Anko into his ear from behind him.

Naruto's smirked was at full force until he too burst into smoke and Anko found herself in the same position Naruto was. "Perhaps," whispered Naruto into her ear, "but I'm still better."

Anko looked surprised for a few seconds before her grin returned. "Well, well, looks like you got me. What are you going to do to me now?" she asked in a sultry voice.

**"Oh yeah,"** said Kurama with a grin**, "she's perfect!"**

Kushina's hair shadowed her eyes. **'That bitch!'** she thought with shaking fists.

Unaware of his mother's murderous thoughts against the woman in front of him, Naruto shrugged. "Depends. There are many things I could do to you."

Anko broke down laughing. "Oh yeah, you just made my day brat. Unfortunately it's gonna take more than a little flirting to get between my legs."

Naruto placed the kunai back in his pouch and stepped back. "That wasn't my intention really. I mean, you're the one that attacked me."

Anko shrugged as she put her kunai back in her kunai pouch. "Well no one comes here," she said honestly.

"Any reason?" asked Naruto, although he already knew the answer.

"Because they're smart enough to do so," answered Anko like it was nothing.

"Well I'm a known idiot," said Naruto with a shrug.

Anko rolled her eyes. "Whatever brat. Now why exactly did you come here for?"

Naruto's face lost all his playfulness which surprised Anko. "I came here looking for you," he answered in a serious voice.

Anko's fake blush returned. "I'm flattered truly," she said, "Unfortunately, you're a little bit too young for me." When Naruto's face remained serious, Anko knew that he wasn't joking. "Well what do you want from me?" she asked him after a couple of seconds.

This time Naruto shrugged. "It's not what I want, but it's what you want."

Anko's eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you talking about brat?"

Naruto shrugged again. "Exactly what I said. Tell me something Anko, are you happy?" he asked her.

Anko's face turned confused. "Really, what the hell are you talking about?"

Naruto sighed. "Exactly what I asked. Are you truly happy with your life?"

Anko's face became dark. "What the hell is it to you?"

With that response, Naruto knew his answer. "Everything really. Because I have a way in which you can finally be happy and not simply be known as the apprentice of a traitor."

Much like with Neji, Anko was in front of him in a second kunai pointed at his throat. "I'm not in the mood for this type of crap brat. I've beaten the bloody pulp out of people for much less then what you just said."

Naruto looked unfazed as if there wasn't a kunai pointed at his throat. "It's the truth though. People in this village don't respect you. You're an outcast just like I am."

Anko's face became even darker. "Bullshit. I have friends in this village."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I highly doubt that. But I'll bite. Who?" he said in an unbelievable voice.

"There's Kurenai, Yugao, and everybody in the interrogation department."

Naruto nodded his head mockingly. "Ah I see. Yes, yes they are really your friends all right."

Anko narrowed her eyes and applied more force to the kunai that was at Naruto's throat. "Don't go making fun of me you brat. You got that?"

"Oh really? Because everyone in this village even those so called 'friends' have been doing it for a long time now and yet I don't see you doing anything about it. So what if I wanted to join them as well in mocking you and making fun of you? What makes me different?"

Anko didn't reply, but the force on the kunai didn't lessen either. "You want to know why you're angry at me?" said Naruto. "It's because you know I'm right. Those friends you have in the interrogation department would no sooner turn on you and torture you if told to, as well as Kurenai. She might not despise you like the others but she only puts up with you. I'm pretty sure the same could be said for Yugao."

At this the force was lessening, so he pressed forward. "You're starting to understand, aren't you? You don't have anyone in this village. You're alone. You've been alone for a long time now but you've been trying to escape that truth, blinding yourself into thinking that you actually had connections to this village. But you don't. You're simply viewed as the apprentice of a traitor and expected to go down the same path. Since they couldn't get to the real person who actually deserved that mistreatment, they went after you. In other words, you're an escape goat just like me."

Tears were starting to fall down Anko's face by this point. She dropped to her knees, the kunai forgotten. "Are you here just to make me feel like this?" asked Anko quietly, the tears still falling.

Naruto kneeled beside her and grabbed her face, stroking her cheek softly. Despite herself, Anko leaned into it. "No. I'm here to offer you a way out of this misery. You deserve much better than all of this. You are much better than all of this. This village is just stupid in not realizing that."

"What do you offer?" asked Anko softly.

Naruto smiled. "A better life. And a chance to get back at this place for all the sadness and pain that it has caused you."

"Will you leave me?" asked Anko, remembering how Orochimaru left her, discarded her like a broken tool.

Naruto shook his head. "Of course not."

That made her decision. It may be rash, but she didn't care. He had broken through the defenses she had set up for years in a matter of minutes with the simply truth-she was alone. She had no one. But he was offering the chance of no more of that, and she was willing to risk it.

Anko took hold of his hand, and brought her face closer to his. And Naruto did nothing to stop it. Their lips met.

Kushina closed her eyes not wanting to see her son kissing another woman. She could say that it was because she was his mother and that it was embarrassing but she knew that wasn't true. It was because she was jealous.

Kurama watched his second host and knew what problem she was having. **'The brat is something.'**

* * *

><p>Kakuzu wanted to stab something. And fast. And hard. Why? Because of the person next to him.<p>

"Motherfucker piece of shit! How long is he gonna keep us in here!" screamed Hidan. The two were currently in Obito's dimension, both tied up and with seals that prevented them from using chakra.

'I would rather be dead than be alive and listen to this,' thought Kakuzu angrily.

"Calm down," said Obito as he appeared in his dimension in a vortex.

"Hey asshole!" screamed Hidan. "Get me out of here!"

Kakuzu could only sigh. 'Does he really think he's in any position to demand anything?' he thought, amazed at his ex-partner's stupidity.

Obito raised an eyebrow. "You really shouldn't be demanding anything."

"Fuck you!" was Hidan's response.

'Why is it this guy that has to go free?' thought Obito, annoyed. 'But then again, he's gonna end up dead at the end so I'll call it even.'

Obito walked up to Hidan, ignoring his curses, and teleported him to the real world, knowing he couldn't do shit considering the position that he was in.

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow. "You actually let him go?" he asked incredulously.

Obito shrugged. "Considering how he's going to end up, I think he would have preferred being in this position. But then again it's Hidan, so….I don't know."

"What are you going to do?"

Obito chuckled. "You're in no position to ask anything either. Besides, I'm taking a huge risk by keeping you in here."

"And why is that?"

"Again you're in no position to ask anything." He was about to transport himself when Kakuzu spoke.

"Wait," said Kakuzu.

Obito tilted his head, silently asking him what he wanted to say. Kakuzu was silent for a few seconds, before looking at Obito straight in the eye. "That offer you made in Taki….is it still on the table?"

Obito crossed his arms and closed his eyes. A few tense moments later, he opened them and looked at Kakuzu. "And why should I even consider you at this point. You already said no."

Kakuzu nodded. "True. But that's because I actually thought that I had a chance. Not only that but that you would kill me, not that you would keep me in here. Also, I'm starting to think that you're more dangerous than akatsuki.

"Still," began Obito, "there's no guarantee that you would remain loyal to us. How do I know you won't talk to your leader?"

Kakuzu shrugged, or the best that he could do giving his position. "Simple. Money."

Obito shook his head. "That's not good enough."

"What the hell do you want then?" he asked.

"From you?" he said, "nothing."

"Look," began Kakuzu, "I'm greedy but I'm not stupid. Do you seriously think I would try to cross you considering how easy you can defeat me or find me? Please, I'm not Hidan."

Obito was silent for a few seconds before he nodded. "Fine. But I won't pay you. Consider that your reward for saying no."

Kakuzu grunted before nodding.

Obito smirked. "Good. But listen to this-if you do betray us, I will come after you and I will find you. And when I do, you'd wish you'd stayed here."

Kakuzu could only nod.

"Then let's go." Obito transported both of them.

* * *

><p>The first thing they heard was Hidan's shouts at Fu. When Hidan saw that Obito had appeared again, he began to curse him again and promising pain and how he would die painfully. Obito merely ignored him again and went to untying Kakuzu.<p>

"What are you doing?" asked Fu, confused. Hidan had stopped cursing and looked on, confused also.

"What does it look like? I'm freeing him," answered Obito.

"But why? I thought it was just this guy," she said, pointing to Hidan.

Obito muttered **'kai'** and the seals that made sure that Kakuzu couldn't use chakra disappeared. Kakuzu stood up and stretched.

"Oi, Kakuzu!" said Hidan. Kakuzu turned his head to look at him. "What the hell are you doing!" he asked.

Kakuzu shrugged. "Saving my life, that's what."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY THAT, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

Kakuzu sighed and turned towards Obito who had an annoyed look on his face. "Are you sure he's going to die?" he asked him.

Obito shrugged. "Probably so, yeah."

Hidan began to curse and scream again before Fu decided that she had enough. So she kicked him in the balls….hard. Even Kakuzu cringed when Hidan hit the ground with a pained look on his face.

Obito turned to Fu with an amused look on his face. Fu only shrugged. "What? He was getting on my nerves."

"I like this girl already," said Kakuzu to Obito who chuckled.

"Alright then, we're going to need to release Hidan now," said Obito.

"What for?" asked Kakuzu.

"To get her into konoha without any suspicion," he answered pointing to Fu. "You're to tell the hokage that your village sold you out and you found out and escaped. You managed to catch one of them in a trap but not the other. So you kept running and before you knew it you were here," he continued, talking to Fu who listened intently. "Remember that once you're inside try to get into contact with Uzumaki Naruto and explained why you're there." Fu nodded. "He's blond and has whiskers." He didn't need to say anything else. Who else fitted that description.

"What about me?" asked Kakuzu.

"You'll head back to akatsuki for now," answered Obito.

"And what am I to tell the leader?"

"Simple. That you and Hidan escaped," answered Obito. Kakuzu was going to speak again but Obito raised his hand. "After that you saw that the nanabi jinchuriki was nearby and went after her. But in your pursuit you didn't realize that you had arrived to konoha. So then, konoha intervened, saved the jinchuriki and killed Hidan, but you managed to escape."

Kakuzu nodded. "I see."

"You'll need to look like you just came out of a battle though," said Obito, "and you'll need to at least lose one of your hearts."

Kakuzu nodded again. "I understand then."

"Good," said Obito before forming handseals. **"Raikiri." **Kakuzu looked at the lighting that gathered around Obito's hand. 'The chakra is visible,' he thought.

'What is this jutsu?' thought Fu with wide eyes.

"Which heart should I take out?" asked Obito.

"My water mask," answered Kakuzu after a couple of seconds as one of the masks took the form of weird shaped creature. Obito nodded and hit the mask with the jutsu, not that it tried to dodge.

"Well then," said Obito pulling out the 'disc' as Fu had called it and handed it to Kakuzu, "when you have anything important to report use this. I will contact you sometimes as well. Make sure no one else finds it."

Kakuzu took it and nodded. "I hope you're starting to see that I'm not going to try anything," said Kakuzu.

"This is a start," agreed Obito, "but I'm not getting my hopes up. Now get going."

Kakuzu nodded again before disappearing heading towards one of akatsuki's bases.

Obito turned to Fu. "Now it's your turn." Fu nodded.

* * *

><p>"Alright we'll start with a simple mission for now," began Tsunade.<p>

Currently Team Kakashi was in the Hokage's office ready to receive it's first mission after awhile. Sakura kept sending glances to Naruto who ignored her. He was having his own conversation.

**"That was pretty good brat,"** congratulated Kurama. Kushina just stayed silent.

'Yeah, and now I have two more people on my side, both on key positions,' said Naruto. 'There's only one person left...'

Tsunade kept sending Naruto glances to see if he would disagree with her for giving them an easy mission, but it didn't seem that he cared. Before she could continue, Shizune barged in….again. "Tsunade-sama!"

Team Kakashi and Tsunade turned their attention to the panting assistant. "What is it now Shizune?" asked Tsunade, dreading the answer. It would seem that every time Shizune barged in, it was only to bring bad news. And this time was no different.

"There's a member of akatsuki right outside the village walls!"

"WHAT!" roared Tsunade as she stood up.

Kakashi looked ready for action, and Sakura looked a little frighted but determined.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. 'Just one….'

**"I already smell the handiwork of the uchihas in this,"** said Kurama.

**"I agree with that,"** commented Kushina.

**'Finally talking is she?'** thought Kurama.

"And he seems to be chasing a girl as well," added Shizune. "Some of our shinobi have already engaged him but nothing seems to work."

"We're going," said Tsunade as she walked towards the door, the others following.

'Could it be Yugito?' thought Naruto.

**"Perhaps, but they're might be another female jinchuriki,"** said Kurama.

Naruto silently nodded as they made their way towards the East Gate.

And indeed, chunnin and jonin alike we're battling Hidan but he just shrugged of their attacks. Fu was being escorted into the village when she caught sight of yellow. She then saw the whiskers and knew it the person she needed to talk to.

"Hahahaha!" laughed Hidan. "Oh yeah, Lord Jashin has rewarded me for my faithful service all right! Now where's that girl!" He hadn't forgotten the damage his balls had taken.

"Stop him!" screamed a random jonin. Hidan just laughed as more shinobi rushed at him. "YES! BECOME SACRIFICES!"

"Pull back!" screamed Tsunade trying to organize her shinobi.

Naruto looked around and noticed Neji with Team Guy. He sent a nod towards him, which he returned.

**"Oi, brat, what are you going to do about this?"** asked Kurama.

'Well, considering all the damage this guy has taken and still standing, I'm gonna say another fool trying to become immortal.'

**"Didn't answer the question, but ok…."**

**"Fire Style: Endan!"**

**"Water Style: Mizurappa!"**

**"Lighting Style: Gian!"**

Hidan just laughed more as the attacks hit him. The konoha shinobi looked on as the smoke cleared, revealing an unharmed Hidan. Well his akatsuki cloak was worse for wear, but he himself was fine. Still laughing in fact. "IS THAT ALL YOU GOT!"

**"Naruto, you're going to have to do something,"** said Kushina, although Naruto detected the lack of '-kun'. The tone she used was also different than the one she had always used. But he put that at the back of his mind for the moment.

Tsunade growled. 'Where's that pervert when you need him?' she thought referring to Jiraiya. She was about to head in there when Naruto walked calmly to the front. She was about to yell at him to stop but then stopped herself. 'The brat obviously has something planned…' She signaled for the other shinobi not to do anything.

All the rookies minus Neji and Sakura were shocked when they saw Naruto, but shook it off. They could worry about that later.

'What are you planning Naruto?' thought Kakashi. Sakura just looked worried.

'Let's see what you got Naruto,' thought Neji.

Fu watched on, interested on what her fellow jinchuriki could do.

Hidan stopped laughing as Naruto stopped a few feet away from him. "You're it?" he said mockingly. "Seems no one else here has the balls then." His own package then felt like it was on fire remembering the kick Fu had give him. The irony….

'Looks like I'm going to have to use that jutsu…' thought Naruto.

**"Are you sure you want konoha finding out about it?"** asked Kurama.

'I still have the rinnegan and your chakra that they don't know about,' responded Naruto.

**"True,"** admitted Kurama.

**"You might want to hurry,"** said Kushina.

Hidan readied his scythe and rushed at Naruto. "DIE!" Naruto dodged all his strikes effortlessly. The shinobi could only watch wide eyed, especially the rookies.

Naruto took out a kunai and started to block some of Hidan's strikes. One wild swing which gave on opening, and Hidan was kicked back. He didn't have time to recover as Naruto was on the offensive but unlike Naruto, Hidan couldn't block Naruto's strikes. They were too fast for him.

'I don't think I'll have to,' thought Naruto.

He punched Hidan in the stomach knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying back. He inserted wind chakra into his kunai and rushed at Hidan who was just getting up. It was his last move. Hidan soon found himself in a similar situation-with his head on the ground and off his body.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" he screamed, remembering how Sasuke had done the same thing.

Naruto calmly walked up to him and was about to finish him and when Tsunade intervened. "That's enough Naruto. We need him alive."

Naruto shrugged before starting to walk back to the village. But something unexpected happen. All the shinobi started to clap and cheer.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. 'What?'

"Good job brat," said Tsunade as she walked up next to him.

Fu looked around. 'I don't get it,' she thought, 'they don't hate him?'

"THAT WAS SO YOUTHFUL!" screamed Guy before he and Lee started to hug, crying tears of youthfulness. Tenten only backed away from them. Neji just scoffed before walking away.

'N-na-aruto-kun,' thought Hinata.

"That's Naruto!" said Kiba. Shino merely nodded.

"Troublesome blond…." muttered Shikamaru. Ino just elbowed him and Choji nodded.

'Naruto,' thought Sakura.

As Hidan was cursing at the anbu that had just arrived to…how to say it….carry him back to the interrogation department, Naruto was laughing within his mind, barely being able to not laugh in the real world.

'I can't fucking believe this!' he thought as the shinobi were still cheering.

**"Well?"** asked Kurama.

'Well what?' said Naruto with narrowed eyes, not that anyone could notice at the moment. 'This doesn't change a thing! In fact, this will just make things sweeter!'

* * *

><p>'Worked like a charm,' thought Obito as he watched everything from a distance. 'Now though….' he made a handsign and smirked. 'With that, Hidan's brain will crumble as soon as they try to get any information. Good thing I took that precaution in case they didn't kill him.' Of course, once they did try to get anything Hidan would die, so it didn't matter either way.<p>

Obito shook his head. 'Well, onto my next target.'

* * *

><p>Tsunade sighed. 'Well that was certainly a fiasco,' she thought. She then narrowed her eyes. 'But it prove to be useful. We might be able to get more information on akatsuki now.'<p>

"Tsunade!" said Jiraiya as he jumped through the window. As soon as he was in, he was forced to dodge a chair. "What the hell!"

"Where the fuck were you!" said Tsunade.

Jiraiya blushed. "Well you see, after we left the bar last night, I met this…."

"Alright stop right there," interrupted Tsunade with a twitching eyebrow.

"In any case, it doesn't seem like you needed my help," continued Jiraiya. "Is it true that Naruto did it himself?"

Tsunade nodded.

Jiraiya whistled. "It seems the brat can handle himself."

"The fact that he took Kakashi should have shown you that," retorted Tsunade, "but we have a bigger problem."

"You're talking about the jinchuriki?" guessed Jiraiya.

"That's right," responded Tsunade.

"Hey, where is she?" he asked, looking around.

"I already spoke to her before you got here. She told me what had happened."

"Well?"

Tsunade shrugged. "It's not that surprising. Apparently her village didn't want anything to do with her so they made a deal with akatsuki for them to have her. She found out and escaped but they managed to find her. She managed to trap one of them and not the other and before she knew it she was here."

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. "Assholes….but where is she?"

"She asked me if she could stay with Naruto for the moment." At Jiraiya's grin, she added, "Not like that, you pervert! Since he's a jinchuriki as well, she thought that he's the best choice to stay with since he could understand her. I decided there was no harm in it so I agreed."

"You're thinking of letting her join konoha, aren't you?" said Jiraiya, guessing what his old teammate was planning to do.

Tsunade nodded. "Of course. Which brings us to the problem."

"Danzo."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "That bastard will no doubt try something. That coward…hell he wasn't even out there!"

Jiraiya sighed. "You're best option is to put her on the same team with Naruto. If she thinks she feels more comfortable with him…."

"My thoughts exactly. There's no way I'm going to let that bastard keep having his way."

"Let's just hope the council agrees with you."

* * *

><p>"So that's why you're here…."<p>

Fu nodded.

'Interesting.'

**"I thought I smelled uchiha,"** said Kurama.

**"I'm more surprise she doesn't have anbu guarding her,"** Kushina pointed out.

'Tsunade must be focusing on extracting information out of Hidan, though I doubt they'll get anything.'

**"No doubt Obito planned something if this happened,"** said Kushina.

There was a knock on Naruto's door, making said blond sigh. After the little fiasco outside, Team Kakashi wasn't able to be dispatched. As such, Naruto came back to his apartment, only for the rookies to ask him if he wanted to join them for a little celebration to which he declined. 'I only hope they didn't come back.'

As he opened it, he was surprise to see Neji and Anko.

"Who is it?" asked Fu as she came into view.

Anko grinned. "Well aren't you a playboy," she teased making Fu blush.

"May we come in?" asked Neji. Naruto nodded and the two entered.

As they settled around the one room apartment, Naruto situated himself by the window. "How did you know about each other?" he asked to Anko and Neji.

"We didn't," responded Neji.

"But once we saw each other coming to your house….well we could guess," finished Anko.

"I take it she's on this," said Neji pointing to Fu.

Naruto nodded and turned to the three. "Yes, but it's not just her. There's more." Anko and Neji just nodded and allowed for Naruto to continue while Fu listened as well, not knowing everything herself.

**"Kushina," **said Kurama as she made her way to be deeper in Naruto's mind. He made sure the link to Naruto was cut.

**"What?"**

Kurama shook his head at her tone. **"Never would have thought that you would fall for your son."**

Kushina turned her head away. **"That's not true…."**

Kurama sighed. **"You're going to have to be true to yourself. And don't take it out on Naruto. If you do, you might lose the only chance at a relationship with him, be it mother to son, or something else."**

Kushina stayed quiet before disappearing, a lot on her mind.

**'Humans are complicated,'** thought the bijuu to himself.

'Things are going better than I expected,' thought Naruto as he looked at Neji, Anko, and Fu. 'Konoha will never know what hit them!'

* * *

><p><strong>YO!<strong>

**Yep, another freaking update. Although I really don't know when I'll update after this so you better enjoy!**

**So what do you think? Good? Bad? Terrible? Or somewhere in the middle?**

**Don't know what else to say….REVIEW!**

**Till next time**


	23. Truth pt III

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summoning, Kushina, and Black Zetsu<br>**_"Hmm…"_****- Thought/Flashback****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 22: Truth pt. 3<strong>

"So we have a deal?"

Onoki could only stare at the woman in front of him…in bewilderment. But can anyone truly blame him? Here she was, an uchiha, a powerful one at that it would seem, said to be dead from the incident known throughout the Elemental Nations as 'The Uchiha Massacre' that destroyed one of the most powerful clan in the world. And she was offering to join his village in exchange for offering support in taking down konoha, home to the man that he hated the most? It would seem his luck was changing and for the better.

"Of course," said Onoki with a smirk.

He gave a glance to the group behind her, and internally smirked again. 'Two jinchurikis, another uchiha, an uzumaki, and an upcoming apprentice of The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Oh yeah, my luck is turning alright.'

Mikoto smiled. "Then it's settled. Once this whole ordeal with konoha is settled, we will join iwa." She had to fight with all her will to not laugh at Onoki's smirk. 'This proved to be easier than I expected. But then again, he's a power hungry fool, so I shouldn't be so surprise.'

"One last thing." Mikoto raised an eyebrow. "That brat who was taking down my shinobi….who was he again?" he asked with suspicion and a bit of anger. After all, he had wanted to be the one to have killed that annoyance.

Once again, Mikoto had to fight back a laugh. "Oh, don't worry about that," she said with dismissal. "He was no one. He just possessed an incredible camouflage jutsu which is why your shinobi were taken care of so easily. Of course, something like that doesn't work against the sharingan."

Onoki hummed in thought. 'I suppose that's possible,' he thought, although not entirely convinced, but decided to let the matter go. "Very well. When will we start?"

Mikoto stood up with a smile. "Don't worry. I'll contact you once everything is in place. Until then." She walked out of his office, the others following.

Onoki smirked again as the door closed. Oh yes, the future seemed good for him. To bad that in reality not everything is what it seems to be…..

* * *

><p>'I can't believe the tsuchikage is that much of an idiot,' thought Yugito as they made their way of the building.<p>

**"He's the power hungry type. Men from his generation are all probably like that."**

Yugito mentally nodded in agreement to what her bijuu had said. Something smart for a change.

**"I resent that."**

Yugito didn't respond.

**"Things are getting interesting, Bee. But that uchiha woman cannot be trusted."**

Bee glanced at said woman walking in front of the group through his shades. 'I know that. But big bro agreed to this, and if he trusts her enough for him to be part in something this big, than I ain't gonna argue.'

The hachibi sighed. **"That faith of yours is going to get you kill one of these days."**

Bee mentally smirked. 'What you talking about, you fool? I'm the great Killer Bee! Whee!'

Hachibi could only sigh again at his host's antics.

The rest of the trip out of the village was in silent. Not that anyone minded, except for nibi, and Suigetsu. Once the group were a few miles out of the village, Mikoto stopped, which in turn made the others stopped.

She turned to them with a smirk. "Alright, this part of the plan has been accomplished. Better than I expected really…."

Karin raised an eyebrow. "You were expecting him to say no?" she asked.

Mikoto shrugged, remembering how she had to place a genjutsu on the raikage. "That was a possibility. A possibility that I'm glad that didn't happen though." 'Or else I would have to have had done the same thing again,' she thought with a mental frown and glanced at Yugito and Bee. 'And if that happened, those two could have gotten suspicious that maybe I had done the same to the raikage.'

"What now?" asked Sasuke.

Mikoto turned to her younger and remaining son. 'I have to get in contact with Obito and see if everything went according to plan as well as to see how Naruto is doing,' she thought. 'But then again, Tobi already has five bijuus in his possession meaning he's going to come for us next unless we strike first.' "You three," she said out loud, referring to Sasuke, Karin, and Suigetsu, "are going to sabotage akatsuki."

Sasuke t'ched in annoyance. "I would have thought that we would be going to konoha now."

Mikoto sighed. "There are many things that need to be done before that, Sasuke. Don't be impatient, or that will lead to your downfall."

Sasuke decided to keep silent.

"Why are we messing with akatsuki anyway?" asked Suigetsu.

Mikoto merely took a single glance at him before answering. "Unless you have forgotten what the akatsuki are going after, then you should know why we need to do something about them."

Suigetsu turned his head away to hide the embarrassed look on his face.

**"Oh? Should I feel insulted that I was referred to as a thing?"**

Yugito mentally rolled her eyes. 'We both know you don't care about something like that.'

Nibi merely chuckled.

**"She's an uchiha alright…."** muttered hachibi. Bee didn't comment.

"Do we even know where they are?" asked Karin with a huff, annoyed.

Mikoto raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You don't. But I do."

"I thought you said you didn't care about akatsuki?" asked Sasuke.

Mikoto chuckled. "True. But don't forget that Itachi was part of it, and I did, or do, care about him." 'Among other things….' she added mentally.

"And how do you get information about them?" asked Yugito joining the conversation. "Even kumo hasn't been able to get a thing about them."

"That is irrelevant," answered Mikoto, her tone saying that that was the end of it.

Yugito gritted her teeth, but didn't respond.

"Well? What do you want us to do?" asked Sasuke, ending the chance for the two women to get into another fight. Pity….

Mikoto shrugged. "Nothing special really. Just simply kill any of the members that you can."

Suigetsu smirked. He liked the sound of that.

"And us?" asked Yugito, clearly annoyed.

"You will follow me so that we may join Obito at a specified location that I will lead you to," she answered.

"What will you do after that?" asked Sasuke.

Mikoto smiled. "Some things here and there. Now, this is the location…."

* * *

><p><strong>"Kyuubi."<strong>

**"Chomei."**

The nanabi, or now identified as Chomei, could only blink in confusion at the situation he was currently in, not that it wasn't unexpected. For one, the kyuubi, the same bijuu that for hundreds probably thousands of years had never once associated with him or any of the other bijuu after the Rikudo Sennin died. So for the bijuu to have called him, well that in it itself was a great surprise. The other surprising thing was the fact that the kyuubi had called him by his real name that the Sennin had given him, and not the one that the other foolish humans had name him or all of the other bijuu for that matter.

Chomei shook his head to clear away all those thoughts. **"What do you want?"** he asked, getting to the point. For kyuubi to have called him, it must be something important. And kyuubi never thought that anything was important! Well besides being free at least, but that was something that all bijuu desire.

**"Do you know where you currently are?"**

If Chomei had eyebrows, he would have raised them. **"What do you mean? Wait…"**

Kurama nodded his head once he saw that Chomei understood. **"You are currently in konoha."**

**'That explains why we're able to communicate,'** thought Chomei, knowing for a fact that konoha was where kyuubi had been sealed. After all, only a descendant of the Rikudo Sennin could be able to handle being the jinchuriki for the kyuubi. And who was better than a member of the uzumaki clan? **"The fact that I'm still sealed and that my chakra hasn't dispersed means that my host is still alive."**

**"That's right."**

**"What is she doing here?"**

**"Let me ask you something first."** Kurama paused. **"Do you have a good relationship with your host?"**

Chomei scoffed at the question. **"Why would **_**you **_**ask that of all things when the answer is pretty clear?"**

**"I see…."**

Chomei eyed him. **'Something is definitely different about kyuubi….'** **"Is that the only reason you contacted me?"**

Kurama shook his head. **"No, but I'll get to that. As for the reason why your host is here is because of mine."**

**"What are you talking about?"**

**"Do you remember what the old man promised us?"**

Chomei froze at that. **"What are you trying to get at kyuubi?"** he asked in a quiet voice.

**"What I'm trying to get at is that his promise is true."**

**"Bullshit."**

Kurama sighed at Chomei's response. **'Although I would have probably said the same thing only a couple of years ago,' **he thought, a bit amused. But he turned serious. **"It's true."**

Chomei shook his head. **"I don't know what has gotten into you, but you should know that that is a dead promise and will never happen. Humanity has become nothing more than greedy abusing the power that the Rikudo Sennin gave them. And now you expect me to believe that his promise can actually be true? I say bullshit."**

Kurama shrugged. **"Think of it as you may, but the fact still remains that it is true."**

**"And what possibly makes you think that?"**

**"If only you have seen what I have."**

Chomei became more confused at that. **"What's that suppose to mean?"**

Kurama shook his head. **"You will see in time. I would ask that you also support your host."**

**"I have no reason to do that," **responded Chomei immediately**, "only if she is about to die. I will not help a human unless I have to."**

**"How about for a bit of freedom?"**

**"Don't kid with me kyuubi!"** Chomei's demonic chakra flared. **"I don't care how powerful you may think you are, but if you think I'll just stand for your games and be manipulated then you're absolutely wrong!"**

Kurama smirked at Chomei's anger. **"I'm not joking. I'm sure your host wouldn't mind letting you have access to her senses if you agree to lend her your chakra whenever she needs or wants it. I know how boring it can be when you're just trapped in a seal with nothing to do."**

Chomei glared at Kurama, who was still smirking. Chomei was currently tossing the idea in his mind, and in the end he decided there wasn't much harm in it. But there was no way in hell that he was about to say it out loud in front of Kurama.

Although he didn't have to as Kurama could already see what his choice was. **"I'll inform her right away then. Do know that if you do break your part, you'll end up with nothing again."**

With that, Kurama cut the link, and Chomei could only flare his chakra in anger.

* * *

><p>Obito sighed as he walked through the underground hideout, the place bringing many memories, some which he'd rather forget.<p>

'I haven't been here for years,' he thought, 'since there wasn't a need for it. Not to mention I'd rather not remember some things that this place reminds me of.'

Obito shook his head and concentrated on finding what he was looking for. Where did he say he had left it again?

'Oh yeah, in the library. One of the places which I would never go to,' he thought with a chuckle as he made his way towards the library. After a few minutes of navigating through the old hideout, he reached his destination. The doors parted as he walked inside, scanning the room before moving towards the center where a single scroll was placed. He picked it up and read the name:** Secrets of the Rinnegan**.

Obito chuckled, remembering the confusion he had when he had left it here.

_"You will know why when the time comes," _he had said.

And boy did he knew. Well, technically it was Mikoto who figured it out first. But how she knew of its existence was a mystery to Obito. 'How does she know all of this?' he asked himself before he smirked. 'Oh well, there is something that she definitely does not know. I wonder how she would react if she ever did find out though….'

He chuckled a bit more before placing the scroll into his ninja pouch and teleported. He reappeared above ground and stretched before yawning. 'If I head to the rendezvous point now I would be extremely early unless I walked there. But I'm feeling rather lazy right now….' He looked around before spotting a tree branch high enough with a perfect shade. Obito smirked. 'Nap time….'

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two days later…..<strong>_

"It's finally finished."

"About time, hmm."

"Aww, come on senpai! We got to spend time together without someone else trying to kill us! Isn't that fun!"

"Tobi, shut up, hmm!"

Pain silently sighed as he watched the two bicker.

"I can't believe they're still alive."

Pain focused his attention towards Kakuzu or Kakuzu in hologram form. He had communicated with them about two days ago, and explained what exactly had happened. In all honesty, it was a good story, but he could tell that Tobi was suspicious. But he couldn't really do anything since sealing the sanbi took precedence. Of course they didn't have any evidence to disprove him, but Pain would make sure to keep a closer eye on him from now on. It was also thanks to his arrival that sealing the sanbi was completed faster though.

His train of thought and Deidara and Tobi's argument were cut off as footsteps could be heard from the tunnel that lead to the entrance of the cave. As soon as Zetsu emerged, he knew who it was. 'So he's here.'

Once he was completely inside the cave, Kabuto smirked as he gazed at the **Gedo Mazo**. 'It's larger than I thought.'

"It seems you were successful," commented Pain to zetsu.

White zetsu chuckled. "Of course." Black zetsu didn't comment.

"And who is this?" asked Kakuzu.

Pain glanced at him. "He's your new partner," he answered.

Both Kabuto and Kakuzu frowned at that all though it wasn't noticeable on Kakuzu.

'This will be a hindrance,' thought Kabuto before subtly glancing at Tobi. 'So that's him….'

"Welcome to akatsuki," said Pain not really in the best welcome voice.

"There's still something that needs to be taken care of before that," said Kabuto with a chuckle.

"You may go," said Pain to Kakuzu. "I will inform you later as to what your next task will be." Kakuzu merely nodded before disappearing. "Deidara, and Tobi. You two as well."

Deidara let out a 'hmm' before jumping down from the statue and walking out of the cave, not bothering to see if Tobi was following him.

"Make sure he doesn't eavesdrop," said Pain to zetsu who nodded before they sunk to the ground.

Tobi, Pain, and Konan jumped as the statue disappeared and landed in front of Kabuto.

"I take it you're Uchiha Madara?" asked Kabuto with a smirk.

'Orochimaru,' thought Tobi with anger, 'how much did you know?' "Yes," he answered calmly. "Now, what exactly is it that you want from us?" Of course Tobi already knew, but it worked better for him if Kabuto didn't know that.

Kabuto shrugged. "Not much really. All I want is Uchiha Sasuke."

"Sasuke is none of our concern," said Pain.

Kabuto tilted his head and chuckled. "True, but Uchiha Mikoto is."

Tobi's eye narrowed. "And what would you know of her?"

"Not much really," admitted Kabuto, "but I do know that you want her out of the picture. I help you deal with her and you help me get Sasuke."

"We don't need your help with something as trivial as that," stated Konan with an emotionless voice.

Kabuto smirked and brought his hands together and coffins rose out of the ground.

'This is….' thought Tobi with his sharingan activated.

"Then let me extent my offer. I currently have in my possession many shinobi that will help akatsuki and hunt the remaining bijuu. I know for a fact that you still have yet to collect four of the bijuu."

"The **Edo Tensei**," said Pain.

Tobi chuckled making Kabuto frown. "What is it?"

"Nothing. It would seem we have reached an agreement then."

Kabuto readjusted his glasses. "Yes. I help you deal with Uchiha Mikoto and capture the rest of the bijuu, and you in turn give me Sasuke."

"Of course," answered Tobi with another chuckle.

Kabuto frowned again before covering it up. The coffins disappeared and he turned towards the exit. "Where will I meet Kakuzu?"

"Zetsu will show you," answered Pain. "I will soon inform you who your first target is." Kabuto didn't respond instead opting to just keep walking.

Once they were sure he was gone, Konan spoke. "I don't trust him."

Tobi shrugged. "It's not a matter of trust. We are simply using him. Once he has done everything we need him to do, we will kill him." He turned to Pain. "Soon you will head out to capture the kyuubi."

"And the uchiha woman?" asked Pain.

"Kabuto will deal with her." With that, Tobi made his way out of the cave as well, many thoughts plaguing his mind.

* * *

><p>'I can't fucking believe this.'<p>

**"What? The fact that this village is full of idiots or that you haven't done a single thing in the last two days?"**

Naruto sighed. 'A bit of both in fact, although I wouldn't say that I haven't done anything.'

Currently we find our whiskered blond lying on his bed in his apartment. A common sight the past two days. Humming could be heard coming from the bathroom and that was due to Fu who was taking a very long bath. It was currently nighttime once more.

**"You're talking about the council meeting?"**

'Exactly.'

**"Well that was three nights ago so it's before the two days in which you really haven't done a single thing."**

Naruto snorted but decided that the fox had a point. After the whole fiasco with Hidan, Tsunade had made it her first priority to try to get any information from Hidan. It backfired. As soon as Yamanaka Inoichi, the clan head of the yamanaka clan and one of the best shinobi to be able to extract information from anyone, tried to go inside Hidan's mind, Hidan's brain started to fall apart immediately. It happened so fast, that they had no chance to try to save it.

'I'm sure Obito had something to do with that….'

**"Obviously. Unless that happens to everyone nowadays, then it was the dirty work of the uchiha."**

Since it was obvious that no information could be extracted from Hidan, the council turned to it's next important 'issue'-which was Fu. Naruto could only chuckle as he remember what had happened and the opportunity it gave him.

**Flashback:**

"Hokage-sama, you can't be seriously allowing this thing into the village!"

Tsunade rubbed her temples as the civilian council continued to rant about how the village could be placed in danger and blah, blah, blah. 'They're lucky I don't kill them myself,' she thought darkly. The shinobi council could be described to be in the same position as Tsunade. Tsunade couldn't believe how much power the sandaime had lost after coming to power again after the yondaime had died to even allow for the civilians to have a say on shinobi matters!

"You better watch what you say _councilman_," said Naruto darkly. Currently Fu was clinging to his left arm as if her life depended on it….which kinda did.

"And what are you even doing here, _boy_?" said the council member with disgust. He was one of the wealthiest men of the village owning most of the important shops in the village. And with wealth came fatness. A lot of it.

"He's here because I say so," spoke up Tsunade with a glare to the council member, making said person shut up.

"It does bring the point that he has no right to be here," commented Homura, all the civilian council agreeing.

"I gave him that right. Is that good enough for you?" said Tsunade with killer intent. Just like the other council member, Homura didn't say another word.

"Enough of this," spoke Danzo from his position. "We are here to decide what to do with the jinchuriki."

Naruto's hands became fists. He wanted nothing more than to just kill the man right there. Hell, everyone! But now wasn't the time, he told himself.

"And what do you suggest?" asked Tsunade, trying with all her best to not let some sarcasm show.

"It's obvious," said Danzo as he gazed at Fu, "we should keep her since her village obviously does not want her back."

"There's the chance of them denying that and declaring war because of this," said Inuzuka Tsume.

Danzo scoffed. "We all know that taki doesn't have the military prowess for that."

"I agree," said Hyuuga Hiashi.

One by one all the clan heads nodded in agreement. The civilian council for their part decided to keep quiet on this even though they wanted nothing more than to just kill Fu but because Danzo was agreeing….then they better agree too.

'It wasn't like I wanted her to return,' thought Tsunade, 'but here comes the tricky part.'

"So she stays then," said Akimichi Choza with a smile.

"If I may," began Danzo, making both Naruto and Tsunade narrow their eyes, "I would suggest that it would be best if you let me train her."

"Oh?" said Tsunade with a raised eyebrow. "And why exactly should I do that?"

"For konoha's security," he answered calmly. "If she learns how to control her bijuu it would be an even more advantage." The civilian council agreed immeadieatly and the shinobi council seemed to contemplating the idea. Tsunade gritted her teeth in anger and Danzo looked pleased.

"I don't think that will be necessary," said Naruto with a smile. All attention turned to him. Danzo narrowed his one visible eye at the boy.

"And why won't that be necessary?" asked Hiashi.

Naruto shrugged. "Simply because she already knows how to control the powers of the nanabi. So for Danzo to train her for that seems pointless." Danzo's grip on his cane doubled almost making his hand bleed.

"Is it true?" asked Nara Shikaku.

Fu nodded from her position next to Naruto, already knowing what to say. "Yes."

"And how do you know this?" asked Aburame Shibi to Naruto.

"She told me," answered Naruto.

'So they trust each other,' thought Tsunade with a smile.

"It would seem pointless then," muttered Shikaku with a yawn.

The rest of the council agreed with Shikaku.

Homura and Koharu shared a look before looking at Danzo. To anyone else it would seem that he was as calm as ever. But they knew better. He was pissed.

Naruto then wrapped his arms around Fu's waist, making said girl blush. "She can stay with me then. I'm sure none of you disagree?" he asked to the shinobi council respectively making the clan heads look at Naruto with respect.

"Now wait just a minute….!" began another member of the civilian council as he stood up.

Tsunade simply raised her hand to stop the council member. "I'm sorry to say that you have no say in this matter. You and the rest of the civilian council are even lucky to be present at all in this meeting."

"And what of the boy! He has no right either!"

"He's a jinchuriki as well," stated Tsunade, "so I believe that gives him more right than you. Not to add the fact that I also authorized him to be here."

The council member just bit his tongue and sat back down.

Tsunade then turn to Naruto and Fu. "It's settled then. Fu, starting today you are a kunoichi of konoha!"

To Fu, that didn't matter. All she wanted was to stay close to Naruto.

Danzo stood up and walked away, Naruto smirking at his retreating back along with Tsunade.

**Flashback: End!**

Naruto was still chuckling. 'Yes, although it's too bad he didn't have any of his anbu with him.'

**"At that time."**

Naruto smirked.

**Flashback:**

Danzo was pissed. He had never been so pissed in his entire life! Well, not since Hiruzen became the hokage. But that's beside the point at the moment. After being denied the kyuubi, he thought he was being retributed by having the chance to get the nanabi. But that was shot down, by a lousy brat at that!

'He's definitely up to something,' thought Danzo angrily as he reached his destination not noticing he was being followed. He was currently inside an abandoned warehouse in the poor section of the village. One of his Root anbu appeared before him, kneeled.

"Danzo-sama?" said the anbu, clearly male, in an emotionless voice.

"From now on, I want you to spy on Uzumaki Naruto. Everything he does, who he talks to, and the such. Is that clear?" said Danzo.

The anbu nodded. "Yes, Danzo-sama."

Danzo nodded, satisfied, and headed out of the warehouse and on to his home.

From the rooftop across, Naruto smirked as he crouched and watched Danzo walk away. 'It could be so simple to kill you right now, but I want not to only kill you, but take down your whole Root operation as well and watch the look on your face when I do,' he thought as he turned his attention to the anbu who was now on the rooftop of the warehouse.

In an instant, Naruto was then behind the anbu, and kicked him back into the building from the roof. The anbu made to get up, but then he found himself being held by his neck and starring into blood crimson eyes.

_**"Yes. You'll do…."**_

Nobody heard the screams.

**Flashback: End!**

'And to think I've never been good at genjutsu…'

**"I'm a master of illusions, brat. I just never bothered with them. Besides, you don't have to worry about being caught in a genjutsu anymore since I'm here."**

'I know and thank kami for that.'

The bathroom door then opened and Fu walked out wearing a simple towel.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her. "I would have thought that you would be embarrassed to wear just that?"

Fu shrugged. "Not really. There's nothing for me to be embarrassed about….."

Naruto raised another eyebrow as she walked towards him.

"I want to thank you."

"For?"

"For treating me as just me."

She was looking down at him and Naruto liked the view.

"And how are you going to do that?"

Fu smiled as she shook the towel off.

* * *

><p>Kurama was grumbling to himself. <strong>'One naked girl comes by and he completely forgets about me. Humans….'<strong> But then he shook his head. **'But it's a relief that I'm not sealed in a woman anymore,'** he thought remembering that how on the few moments that he did get to feel what was going on out in the real world when he was sealed in both Mito and Kushina it was during…._that_. It was not comfortable. His tails covered his ass protectively. **'And now Chomei….'** he added with a chuckle.

**"What's so funny?"** asked Kushina as she walked in his chamber.

**"Where have you been?"** asked Kurama back.

Kushina sighed. **"I was….thinking."**

**"I see…."**

**"Where's Naruto-kun?"**

Kurama looked around, anywhere, but at Kushina. **"He's….indisposed."**

Kushina narrowed her eyes before they widened. **"You mean…."**

Kurama nodded. **"Yes. The brat is doing the deed."**

Kushina looked down before looking at Kurama in the eye. **"Is there anyway for me to have a real body again?"**

Kurama eyed her. **"I don't know. Me and Naruto were thinking of how but as of now we got nothing."**

Kushina nodded before she started to walk away. She stopped when Kurama spoke again. **"You okay with this?"**

Kushina merely nodded. **"Of course. Even if I wasn't, I have no right to say anything."** She then disappeared.

Kurama held out his right paw. **'There's Fu, Anko, Kushina, possibly that blonde that has Matatabi, and Mikoto.'** Kurama whistled. **'The brat is something.'**

* * *

><p>Mikoto had an expressionless look on her face as she gazed at konoha from the Hokage Mountain.<p>

'So I'm back,' she thought. In her possession was the scroll that Obito had taken with him. Currently, he along with Yugito and Bee were on the hunt for Kabuto. The longer he stayed alive, the more problems it would bring. It would be better if he was killed now. It would solve many problems in the future.

She focused her gazed at what use to be the compound of the uchiha clan. Instinctively, memories of that night began to flood her mind.

_**"So what do you say?"**_

_"But how? He should be dead…."_

_**"Hehehehe….don't worry about it. If you accept, you'll know everything."**_

_"And the others?"_

_**"They serve no purpose. Don't tell me you actually care about them?"**_

_"But little Sasu…."_

_**"He'll live. Itachi won't kill him. And I can assure you that nothing will happen to him afterwards."**_

_"How can you be so sure?"_

_**"I'm his will. He told me everything. No matter what, Sasuke will be safe….for now."**_

_"And Fugaku?"_

_**"Like I said, he serves no purpose. So will you come Uchiha Mikoto?"**_

Mikoto smiled. 'Best choice I ever made….'

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**How's it going? Good I hope….anyways here's the next chapter. As you can see, a lot has happened and more pieces of the puzzle are being revealed. Well more like teasers but still clues.**

**Has anyone like figured this whole thing out? If you have, PM me. If not….meh nothing happens.**

**And another thing-two more haters! And these are true narutards or whatever it is they're called. The only thing I gotta say about their reviews which I think were posted by the same person or twins….well the only thing I gotta say is that I'm only doing this for fun. Got a problem? I don't give a fuck.**

**Tell me what you thought. Was it good? Bad? Or Terrible? Or something else all together?**

**Till next time**


	24. Secrets of the Rinnegan

**"Hmm…."- Tailed Beasts, Summoning, Kushina, and Black** **Zetsu  
><strong>_"Hmm..."_**-** Dream/Flashback****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 23: Secrets of the Rinnegan<strong>

_"Uzumaki Naruto….you have lost your purpose."_

_"What is this? Where am I!"_

_"Do not worry. In time you will come to realize everything."_

_"What are you talking about? Who are you!"_

_"That is not important. First you will have to choose which path you will take."_

_"Heh….I'm pretty sure I have already chosen what I want to do."_

_"Perhaps, but there are still many obstacles blocking your objective, and many secrets."_

_"That won't stop me."_

_"Hmm….Prove it."_

Naruto stood up into a sitting position, panting and sweating. He controlled his breathing rate and looked around and realized that he was in his apartment on his bed. He turned to the window and saw that it was still dark outside. Movement caught his peripherals, and he turned to look to his right and saw the smiling face of Fu. What had happened a few hours earlier rushed to his brain. The blond silently sighed before laying back down and bringing Fu closer to him, causing said girl to sigh happily in her sleep.

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated, and when he opened them, he was standing within the sewer that made up his subconscious. He walked into one of the many tunnels and appeared into the room that Kurama resided in.

Said fox was currently resting his head on his paws, eyes closed. He opened one eye before closing it when he saw who it was. **"Is there any reason for you to be here right now?"**

Naruto sighed as he walked closer to the bijuu. "You mean you don't know about the dream I just had?"

Kurama opened both eyes at this. **"No, I don't. Mind enlighting me?"**

Naruto shrugged as he jumped on top of the bijuu's head and laid down. "Not much. I was just standing on what looked like a white room and this voice telling me how I lost my purpose."

**"Oh?"** said Kurama in surprise. **"Now that is interesting…."**

"I'm not going insane, am I?"

Kurama snorted. **"I'm sure you reached that awhile ago."**

Naruto chuckled. "Maybe….but I wonder who could it be? And what does it mean, saying I lost my purpose?"

**'Purpose, huh?'** thought Kurama. **'Could that have been…?'**

"In any case I suppose I can move to the next step of the plan," continued Naruto.

Kurama decided to put the….vision into the back of his mind for the moment. **"Already? I would have thought that you might have waited a bit more."**

"I already have Anko, Neji, and now Fu in the village. Not to mention the root anbu who is now basically my very own puppet. Disrupting Danzo's plans and killing him afterwards are now much easier."

**"So how are you going to leave the village? I doubt that they will just let you leave…."**

"No, there's one thing before that that I need to do."

**"Which is?"**

"Giving kaa-san her own body. Speaking of her, where is she?"

Kurama shrugged. **"No idea. But how are you planning on doing that?"**

"I'm not completely sure yet, and that's what's annoying me." Naruto brought his hands to his eyes. "The rinnegan is suppose to be something godly right?" At Kurama's nod, he continued. "Isn't there some jutsu that can solve this problem then?"

**"I'm not sure. The information I gave you and the jutsus you learned are just the tip of the iceberg on what the rinnegan can do. Take the ability to see through time that Madara possessed if what Mito said is true. That's something that I didn't know could be possible."**

"Do you think the Rikudo Sennin figured them all out?"

**"I don't know to be honest. But it wouldn't surprise me if the old man did figured them all out."**

"Say, how did the Rikudo Sennin gain the rinnegan anyway?"

**"That is something that I do not know."**

"Too bad. That would have been something interesting to know."

**"Yes. It would…."** Kurama paused and so did Naruto. **"We have company."**

Naruto merely narrowed his eyes.

* * *

><p>Twitch.<p>

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Mikoto's hands and eyes twitched at the sight before her. And what sight could that be? Can anyone guess? No? Too bad….

Naruto opened his eyes in the real world, and stood up in a sitting position once again, making Fu silently whine at the loss of closeness. Naruto looked at the spot to where Mikoto what standing in, an annoyed look on her face.

"Seems you've been busy."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her tone, but didn't dwell on it. He did however take notice to the fact that he wasn't wearing anything under the bed covers. He wasn't sure how Mikoto would react to that so he decided to keep quiet about it.

"You could say that," he answered. "What are you doing here?" he asked, switching topics.

"You tired of me already?" she said with a bit of amusement.

Naruto sighed. "You know what I mean. It's dangerous for you to be here."

"Aww, so you do care," said Mikoto chuckling. "But don't worry. The uchiha clan had many underground tunnels running throughout the village. I just used one and sneaked in. I would have thought that security might have been tighter because of what happened with Hidan, but apparently not."

"You still haven't told me why you're here," he pointed out.

Mikoto merely threw a scroll at him, Naruto catching it. He eyed it. "What is this?"

Mikoto smirked. "That is to help you solve any problems and questions you have regarding the rinnegan."

Naruto's eyes snapped in interest when he heard that. But something else came to mind. "Where did you get this?"

"Someone left it for us," she answered, not trying to answer the question directly.

'Someone, huh?' thought Naruto, his mind racing.

**"That could only be…."**

'Madara,' finished Naruto with an internal smirk. 'If she thinks she can keep me in the dark, she's gravely mistaken.'

**"Don't let her know that though."**

"This will be helpful," said Naruto out loud, setting the scroll aside. The next thing he knew, he was back lying down on hid bed, Mikoto on top of him. "You think I don't know that you're naked under there?"

Naruto for his part could only stare at the woman on top of him. "What are you doing?"

Mikoto shrugged. "Considering what you did with Fu, I'm sure you know."

That caused Naruto to turn his head to look at Fu, who was still miraculously still asleep. Naruto sweatdropped. 'She's a heavy sleeper alright…'

**"That, or you literally put her in a pleasure induced coma."**

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes at his bijuu. A hand grabbing his package brought him to reality. "Don't be spacing out on me."

**"Brat, don't you dare do it…."**

But Naruto was no longer listening to him. He only focused all his attention on the woman on top of him. He grabbed the back of her head and brought her lips to his.

**"BRAT!"**

* * *

><p>"Where were you, hmm?"<p>

"Sorry Deidara-senpai! But you were so fast that I couldn't find you! So I had to…."

"Enough, hmm!"

Tobi chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, making Deidara t'ched in annoyance. The two were currently walking down a path in one of the many forests in the Land of Fire. "We need to get going Tobi, hmm."

"Well, where are we going to go, senpai? Leader-sama said to wait for his instructions!"

"Forget that, hmm! I have a bone to pick with Uchiha Sasuke, hmm."

"Sasuke? But he's not a jinchuriki!"

"I don't care, hmm. That little brat took my chance to kill Orochimaru. And now that Itachi is gone, there's no one that can protect that little brat, hmm."

"B-but what about that other uchiha that is his mother, senpai?"

Deidara snorted. "She's nothing."

Tobi's eye narrowed, not that Deidara noticed. "Well how are going to find him, senpai?"

Before he could answer, the two were suddenly force to dodge a **Chidori** as Sasuke appeared where they had been just a few moments ago.

Deidara grinned as he landed. "It seems you saved me the problem of finding you uchiha, hmm."

Sasuke merely let out a hmph, his sharingan activated.

"Wow!" Sasuke turned to the other akatsuki member present. "You're fast! And you look just like Itachi-senpai!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. 'So this is the fake Madara. I wonder who he truly is though. Kaa-san never did told me.'

Both Suigetsu and Karin landed behind Sasuke. "You could have waited for us…" muttered Suigetsu in annoyance, but Sasuke payed him no mind.

"Oi! Don't ignore me, hmm!" screamed Deidara.

'He's a nuisance,' thought Sasuke as he readied his sword and rushed at Deidara at an incredible speed, but Deidara was prepared for it as he jumped outwards. He grinned as he tossed his clay shaped as spiders down towards Sasuke. **"Katsu!"**

Tobi whistled. "Good job senpai!"

"Sasuke!" screamed Karin in worry. Suigetsu merely sighed. 'Does she really think that would have killed him?' he asked himself.

Deidara's grin was still present as he landed a few feet away from the blast radius. "And to think that you were able to kill Orochimaru. It must have been-"

"I've been meaning to test this out," interrupted Sasuke's voice from within the dust cloud. Deidara's grin vanished as he gazed at what appeared to be a purple skeleton form surrounding Sasuke, who was unharmed.

'So this is Sasuke's **Susanoo**,' thought Tobi.

Karin sighed in relief and Suigetsu scoffed. 'Show-off….'

Deidara narrowed his eyes. "What is that?"

Sasuke shrugged. "You'll be dead soon, so there's no reason for me to explain anything to you."

"Don't underestimate me!" screamed Deidara as he took a large amount of his clay and brought it towards his mouth where he began to chew. Tobi, already knowing what was coming, took to the trees, putting as much distance as possibly. Karin and Suigetsu took the hint and proceeded to do the same thing.

Sasuke for his part became interested as Deidara spewed out a giant version of himself. "TIME TO DIE!" He jumped and one of his infamous clay birds appeared and he jumped on top, taking to the skies. "**KATSU**!" Sasuke expected a giant explosion, but instead the gigantic version just seemed to fall apart. 'Did it fail?'

Deidara smirked at Sasuke's confused look. Sasuke for his part, understood what the jutsu actually did once all the animals in the area began to disintegrate. 'I see,' thought Sasuke, 'this would have caused a problem, but not anymore.'

Deidara's smirk vanished when he noticed that none of his microscopic bombs were able to enter Sasuke's bloodstream. 'But why? Is it whatever that purple thing is?'

Sasuke's **Susanoo** began to change, taking on armor. 'What?' thought Deidara alarmed. The **Susanoo **readied its bow and launched its arrow towards Deidara. Deidara's clay bird was pierced causing Deidara to jump off. In mid-air, he had no way of dodging a second arrow attack. 'Fast!' he thought as he left arm was pierced. He landed on the ground hard, coughing out blood.

"It's over," stated Sasuke he walked up to Deidara's down form, **Susanoo** disappearing. "What is that jutsu?" asked Deidara again.

Sasuke shrugged again. "Like I said, there's no reason to tell you." _**"Amaterasu."**_ Deidara's screams could be heard throughout the forest as the black flames consumed him.

Tobi chuckled as he watched everything from a safe distance. 'That Mikoto….she's even more crafty than I thought. But I could use this to my advantage. If I can convince Sasuke…'

"I know you're out there," said Sasuke. Tobi chuckled as he appeared before Sasuke. "I take it you know who I am?" he asked in his normal voice.

"Yes. Which is why you're going to die. **"Amaterasu!"** Tobi only chuckled again as the black flames hit him, not affecting him in the least. 'What?' thought Sasuke. "Is that all you got?" asked Tobi.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as his **Susanoo **appeared again. Tobi tilted his head. "You sure aren't very creative are you? But the question still remains-will you join me?"

Sasuke snorted. "Of course not. What gave you the idea that I would?"

Tobi shrugged. "It was worth asking. Do know that now you have made yourself an enemy out of me. Till next time, Sasuke." With that Tobi disappeared.

Sasuke sighed as his **Susanoo **disappeared again. 'At least I was able to get something on his abilities….but just what kind of jutsu was that?' He turned towards the pile of ash that was once Deidara. 'And I did take care of another akatsuki member. That's one less problem.'

Both Suigetsu and Karin reappeared again. "Well? Did you get the other one?" asked Suigetsu. Sasuke merely started to walk towards where his mother had said the akatsuki base was, ignoring Suigetsu. 'Let's see if anyone else is left over there.'

* * *

><p>Naruto t'ched in annoyance as the sun's first rays hit him through the window. 'Annoying sun…' As he made to get up, he felt weight on both of his arms, preventing him form doing so. He turned to his right, and Fu was still asleep, holding onto his right arm with an ever present smile on her face. And when he turned to his left, he was greeted to Mikoto's sleeping face who was holding to his left arm and placed on her breasts.<p>

A knock on the door prevented him from enjoying the sight any longer. He substituted with a pillow, put on a pair of boxers and made his way to the door. He opened it partially and was greeted to Sakura's smiling face. 'Crap…'

"Good morning, Naruto."

Aware to the fact that two naked women were currently lying on his bed, Naruto made the best calm polite voice he could muster. "Sakura. What a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Tsunade-sama has cleared our team for a mission now that things have calmed down," she answered. "Oh, and she said to tell you that someone named Fu needs to be there also," she added as an afterthought.

Naruto nodded. "Got it." Not waiting for a response, he closed the door. He made his way back to his bed where he looked at the two sleeping women. 'Now, how to wake them…..' He decided for a simple calling of their names and clapping his hands. "Ok, get up you two. We have work to do."

Both groaned before slowly sitting up. Fu rubbed her eyes before taking notice of Mikoto who was stretching….naked. "Umm….who are you?" she asked clearly confused. The last thing she remembered….well you all probably know.

Mikoto let out a small yawn before answering. "I'm Mikoto. We've already kinda meet but that was through the hologram communication." Fu's eyes widened at that. "So you're Mikoto?" At her nod, Fu blinked her eyes in confusion. "Ok, then what are you doing here? And naked?"

Mikoto chuckled. "I presume for the same reason you're also naked," she said, pointing towards Naruto who was searching for his pants. Fu blushed. 'So they did it while I was asleep!?'

"Yes we did." Fu's face turned completely red.

Mikoto chuckled again as she got out of bed, not caring that she was completely naked. "What's going on?" she asked Naruto, who finally found his pants. "I have a mission along with Fu. You….well I don't know what you're going to do."

Mikoto shrugged. "There's not much at the moment."

Naruto eyed her. "Well you should know that I'm not planning on staying in the village much longer."

"Oh? And why is that?" she asked.

"Because." he said simply, not offering an explanation.

'So he's not telling me everything,' she thought. 'I suppose I should have expected that.'

"Fu get ready," said Naruto. Fu, who finally came out of her embarrassment, nodded.

"Well then," said Mikoto, "I guess I should be going as well." She picked her clothes that were all around the room, before walking up to Naruto and giving him a kiss. "Thanks for a good night," she added with a wink and disappeared.

'Did she just leave….naked?' thought Naruto amused.

**"You motherfucking sex craved idiot!"**

Naruto sighed. 'Good morning to you too Kurama.'

**"Don't give me any of that! You fucked her!"**

'And?'

**"And!? And!….well…."**

'Exactly.'

* * *

><p>Obito could only chuckle as he stared at the duo in front of him. "I must say that this has been a good surprise."<p>

'Surprise my ass,' thought Kakuzu as he and Kabuto stared at Obito alongside Yugito and Bee who were few feet away.

"I must say that I didn't expect you to find us this quickly," commented Kabuto as he readjusted his glasses with a frown. He glanced at Kabuto through his peripherals. 'Could he have sold us out?'

Obito shrugged. "The element of surprise is a strong tool to have on your side. Now though, I must ask kindly that you die." Yugito sweatdropped at that, and Bee nodded his head in agreement to what Obito had said. 'Are all uchiha crazy?' asked Yugito.

Kakuzu snorted and Kabuto shook his head. "Honestly, you of the uchiha clan are too arrogant," said Kabuto.

"Oh? And you're one to talk," retorted Obito. "The only difference though is that I can back that arrogance up."

Kabuto narrowed his eyes. "We'll see about that." His hands came together, and four coffins rose once more. They opened, and Asuma, Hayate, and two other shinobi came out. Yugito and Bee readied themselves. The four dead shinobi went in at the trio, intent on taking them down. Asuma went for Obito, but all his strikes missed as they just went through Obito. He took hold of Asuma's shoulders and spun him around and flung him backwards.

The other three went for Yugito and Bee. Bee for his part activated his chakra cloak, mode one. **"Lariat!" **He took the heads off of Hayate and one of the unnamed dead shinobi.

Yugito gracefully dodged the kicks and punches from one of the unnamed dead shinobi thanks to her flexibility. She coursed her element of lighting through her body, and much like **Chidori Nagashi**, sent a powerful current to the dead shinobi who flew back.

Obito rushed at Kabuto. **"Kuchiyose!"** screamed Kabuto. Obito disappeared with his teleportation as Kabuto summoned. Kabuto narrowed his as he stood on top of the enhanced version of Manda. Much like it said, this Manda was more powerful than the last and more obedient after Kabuto had…dealt with him. All he he had wanted were blood samples! But did he comply? No…. 'Where is he?' thought Kabuto as he looked around.

The four revived shinobi were currently regenerating their damage done to each of their body. 'There's no need for me to get involved,' thought Kakuzu from the ground as he looked up to where Kabuto was standing.

"It seems you don't know anything about my abilities," said a voice behind Kabuto. Kabuto turned as quick as possible but there was no one there. "Tch….Manda where is he!?"

The summoned Manda looked around, trying to find a scent, but he couldn't. 'What's going on?' thought Kabuto. A large explosion to his right caught his attention and he turned only to come face to face to a giant octopus. 'The hachibi….'

**"Let's get this party started! Whee!"** screamed Bee in his tailed beast form.

**"Must you say that while you're in my form?"** grumbled Hachibi from within Bee's mind, making said shinobi smirk.

'This could cause problems….' thought Kabuto. The next thing he knew, he was standing in air. His eyes widened in alarmed, and then stayed like that as octopus tentacles quickly came at him.

Kakuzu smirked as he watched everything before he was force to dodge a kick. He jumped back and quickly came face to face with Yugito. "You're out of your league here, little girl."

Yugito's right eye twitched. 'Little girl….?'

**"Oh yes kitten! Can I come out to play!"**

Kakuzu continued, not noticing how the woman's anger in front of him continued to rise. "You should have just ran away. In the end, we still would have caught you, but you would have lived a few more days, or weeks, or so." He stopped as he felt demonic chakra. He shielded his eyes as dirt and wind began to pick up. He didn't notice the tail till it was too late. He was slapped back with a great force.

Yugito's face showed pure anger. **"I'll show you who should have ran away!"** she screamed.

'Me and my mouth,' thought Kakuzu as he stood up.

**"Where is he?"** said Bee as he looked around. **"All I kill were snakes!"**

**"A substitution,"** said hachibi, **"and here I thought we were going to be faster than that."**

'That regeneration is slow,' thought Kabuto from his hidden spot on one of the trees. Due to the hachibi literally destroying every piece of their body, the four dead shinobi were still regenerating their lost body parts. 'I'm going to have to have to bring out tougher ones….' He didn't get to think much more as he was suddenly force to dodge a fireball.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

**"There he is!"** said Bee as he made his way to where Kabuto jumped from. Obito stood on the ground, as he had launched the fireball. He sighed. 'I was hoping to make this a bit more interesting but apparently Kabuto doesn't want to play. Oh well, might as well kill him now.' His train of thought came to a stop as he heard a scream in pure agony. He turned to look back and raised an eyebrow as Kakuzu was being man-handled by a very pissed of Yugito. 'Damn….'

**"Who's a weak little girl now, huh!"** screamed Yugito in her chakra cloak as she continued her assault on Kakuzu. One strong punch and Kakuzu was sent flying back.

Kakuzu panted from his spot on the ground. 'I'm down to two hearts…from punches alone! I really shouldn't have said anything. And I why isn't Obito calling her off!'

Yugito was on her all fours. **"Is this all you can do?"**

Now that pissed Kakuzu off. He stood up and tore what remained of what was his new akatsuki cloak. 'All I have is fire and lighting. Gotta make it work.' The lighting mask took the form of the strange thing and went at Yugito. It launched lighting at her in a shape of spear. Yugito immediately disappeared from her spot and was on the thing's right side.

**"Lighting Style: Jibashi!" **Due to nibi's chakra enhancing all of Yugito's attack, the thing was immediately destroyed from the strong stream of lighting.

Now Kakuzu was nervous. He was down to one heart. And the last time that had happened was when he had fought the Shodai Hokage. 'I need to get out of here,' he thought worriedly. But didn't get a chance to as Yugito was in front of him again and a sent a powerful kick to his stomach. Kakuzu hunched forward from the kick. **"To finish this…"** Kakuzu's eyes widened as the skin on Yugito's body began to disappear, and the youki started to become more powerful.

'She's going into her bijuu mode!' thought Kakuzu in alarm before he was consumed in the flames that made nibi's body. Obito sighed once he saw Kakuzu die. 'A shame, but oh well. He was expendable.'

Kabuto took in his situation. Two jinchuriki, who apparently had full control of their respective bijuu and were and in their bijuu mode, and an uchiha who apparently could not be hit by any attacks. Oh, and his so called partner was dead. Kabuto started to sweat. 'Time to retreat…' he thought as he made a handsign.

**"Oh no you don't!"** screamed Bee as he tried to hit him with him with tentacles attack again but was not fast enough. **'Damn….'**

Obito looked to the spot where Kabuto had been last. 'Coward….'

* * *

><p>Naruto was currently smirking to himself as he hopped from tree to tree. He, along with Fu, the rest of Team Kakashi and Team eight minus Kurenai and a guy who Naruto heard was named Yamato, were on their way to their mission objective.<p>

'With this our problems are solved,' the thought having read the scroll during their stops.

**"So you're going to do it?"** asked Kushina with hope.

'Of course, but I'm going to need some sacrifices….' Naruto then shook his head. 'Crap, I just sounded like that moron Hidan!'

Kurama chuckled before turning serious. **"Are you sure about this? What you're going to do…."**

'If Madara could do it, so can I,' interrupted Naruto.

**"Well you're lucky you're going to one of Orochimaru's old bases then,"** said Kushina with a smile, **"I'm sure we will be able to get this done there."**

**"And here I though that senju woman wasn't going to send you out on a high ranked mission as this,"** pointed out Kurama.

'Yeah, me too, but it has worked to our advantage.'

**"You will need to do this quietly…."** suggested Kushina.

Naruto shook his head. 'There's no point after this. Neji and Anko already know what to do and I can control the Root anbu at anytime even if I'm not in the village. Besides, konoha was going to find out eventually and I'm growing rather bored lately.'

Kushina sighed at that. **'Bored he says?'**

The rest of the trip was made in silent. Eventually the team made it what appeared to be the entrance to the underground base. "Alright," said Kakashi, "according to Jiraiya-sama, this is it here."

"Is there anyone present?" asked Kiba.

"Hinata," instructed Kakashi. Said girl nodded before activating her byakugan. A few seconds passed before she answered. "There seems to be some shinobi present," she reported surprisingly calmed. "But mainly civilians who seem to be trapped in prison cells."

Kakashi nodded in thanks. "That's surprising," said Yamato, "I would have expected no shinobi present since Orochimaru died."

Kakashi shrugged. "Who knows?" He turned to the whole team. "Alright. We will be going on teams of two. Hinata, you're with Shino. Kiba, you're with me. Yamato and Naruto will be another. And finally Sakura and Fu."

Everyone nodded except for Naruto and Fu. 'I was hoping to get paired with Fu so I can tell her what to do. But no choice….' He walked up to Fu who was upset at being paired with Sakura. She was so upset that she didn't notice Naruto until he engulfed her in a hug. Gasps could be heard, mainly from Sakura and Hinata but Naruto didn't pay them any thought. Both Kakashi and Yamato just raised an eyebrow with Kakashi chuckling. Shino was expressionless, and Kiba grumbled. 'Why does he get the hot chick….'

"Good luck Fu," he whispered into her ear. Fu knew what he meant as he discreetly handed her a note. She merely nodded.

"Alright brake it up," said Kakashi but was smiling. "You two can have time after the mission." Fu blushed, but Naruto internally smirked. 'Heh, I'm not so sure about after the mission, but I wouldn't mind.'

**"You are really impossible aren't you?"**

Naruto didn't bother to offer a response to the bijuu.

* * *

><p>Naruto was getting impatient as he walked the dark and empty corridors. It had been a good thirty minutes since the team had split up and so far he and Yamato had encountered no one and nothing. 'How big is this place?' wondered Naruto. The other annoying factor was that every corridor was the same. How anyone could find his way through this was beyond Naruto's understanding.<p>

But then his prayers were answered as he and Yamato walked into a room that appeared to be some sort of small prison. A single oto shinobi was present. Once he had seen them, he brought out a kunai. "Hold it! Who are you?" he asked. The civilians for their part who were trapped behind cells began to get their hopes up as soon as they saw the leaf headbands.

Before Yamato could speak, he was suddenly puking out blood. He looked down and saw a kunai in his chest. He turned his head back to see Naruto's smirking face. He fell face first on the ground.

The oto shinobi could only stare in shock at what the blond had done to his comrade. The civilians trapped were also on the same note. Before anything else, the oto shinobi felt a strong force pulling on him. 'What's this!' he thought alarmed. He was soon pulled towards the blond who he noticed that his eyes had changed.

_**"Bansho Tenin."**_

Naruto merely stabbed the oto shinobi before throwing him on the ground next to Yamato. He then did a series of long and complicated hand seals.

"What's he doing?" asked one civilian. The others merely shook their head, not knowing.

After finishing, Naruto brought his right hand down, saying. **"Kuchiyose: Shinigami."**

The civilians shuddered as they felt a cold wind appeared. Then they noticed a dark form standing or floating in front of the blond enigma holding what appeared to be a wooden cane with a skull on top with his right hand. 'What is that?' wondered every civilian present.

**"Uzumaki…."** said the figure.

Naruto for his part nodded his head. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. But it's obvious that you already knew that. I also think that you know what I want."

The figure let out an 'hmm' in agreement. **"Indeed. Although I wasn't sure if you would go through with it."**

Naruto tilted his head at this. "And why is that?"

The figure chuckled. **"Because if I were to truly revive your mother then I will take every person's soul in this room."** The civilians began to shake when they heard that.

Naruto snorted. "You actually think I care about them. Please."

The figure was silent for a few moments before laughing. **"You are truly different from him."**

'Him?' thought Naruto. 'Is he talking about Madara?'

**"Something tells me no…"** muttered Kurama and Kushina had to agree with him on that.

Naruto shook his head. "Will you do it then?" he asked.

The figure nodded. His pointed his cane at Naruto. The skull then began to glow black with the eyes glowing red. Naruto felt a burning sensation but it wasn't physically. He then heard a scream and realized it was his mother.

When the figure finished Naruto panted as he kneeled. 'That hurt like a bitch,' he thought. 'But did it work?'

**"It is done."**

Naruto looked up and the figure stepped…umm floated to the side and his mother was standing, grinning. "It worked!" she said as she ran up to Naruto and hugged him. The figure then turned to the cowering civilians. **'Now for my payment….'** The civilians screamed and fell over as their bodies turned into ash.

But both mother and son didn't pay any attention to that. **"Now,"** began the figure making Kushina and Naruto turn to him. **"If my services are no longer required, I will take my leave."** The figure then chuckled. **"I am interested to see how your path will end now that you have chosen this road, Uzumaki."**

Naruto narrowed his eyes, remembering the dream. "What is it you then?" he asked.

The figure knew what he was talking about but shook his head. **"No. That is….someone else."** He then pointed to Naruto's rinnegan eyes with his free hand. **"You will soon come to know what having those eyes means, boy. Just like he did a long time ago."** With that the figure disappeared and so did the dark and cold feeling.

'What the hell is that suppose to mean?' thought Naruto. But he didn't get to think anything else as Kushina took hold of his face and kissed him. Naruto widened his eyes as his own mother kissed him. When she parted, she smiled. "I've been wanting to do that for awhile now."

Naruto could only stare at his mother in shock.

**"And then there was one…."**said Kurama with a chuckle referring to the fact that he was the only left in Naruto's subconscious.

"But you're..."

"Is that a really a problem?" interrupted Kushina, although her smile did lessen.

Naruto took notice of it and frown before smirking. "If you wish..."

Kushina's smile came back.

* * *

><p>Mikoto sighed as in relief and pleasure as she bathe in a hot spring in a village just outside of konoha. 'Oh yeah, this is living.'<p>

Movement caught her eye and she sighed, but this time in irritation. "You know, if it were anyone else, I would have killed him."

**"Oh I don't know about that. What about the uzumaki boy?"**

Mikoto turned her head away with a huff. "What are you doing here anyways? Weren't you suppose…."

**"We split up. Your son just killed Deidara and Obito killed Kakuzu so Tobi is speeding up his plans."**

"And Kabuto?"

**"Got away….again. He really is like a second version of Orochimaru."**

"Something the world doesn't need," muttered Mikoto with a shudder. "In any case, it won't be long now before both Tobi and Kabuto are killed."

**"And Pain?"**

"What about him? He's just a pawn in this."

**"Aren't we all?"**

Mikoto turned to the newcomer. "What's that suppose to mean?"

**"Nothing. So what do you want me to do? I doubt you still want me to keep pretending that I work for Tobi."**

Mikoto narrowed her eyes at him dodging her question but answered. "For now yes, keep up the acting. But don't worry, soon that will end. Now get going before anyone catches you, zetsu."

Black Zetsu chuckled before disappearing underground as if he was never there.

Mikoto sighed as she laid her back. 'We're all pawns, huh? But for whom?'

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Yeah, I know another chapter. But I'm sure none of you mind. And yes it seems black zetsu is really on Mikoto's side and not Tobi's. Anyone saw that coming? With this, a lot of you might piece some things together….I think. I don't know. Maybe not.**

**Hope you enjoyed and do tell me what you thought. Good or bad? Or whatever.**

**Till next time**


	25. Setback

**"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 24: Setback<strong>

Naruto and Kushina quietly made their way through the corridor. Naruto lead the way presuming that since he was the one who knew the way back since he walked in in the first place. It was not a good idea.

"So we're lost?" asked Kushina with a twitching eyebrow.

Naruto could only shrug. "It's not my fault. Seriously, every corridor in this place is the fucking same! Same color, same doors, same pattern! I think this is why Orochimaru went insane. Hell, I've been here less than an hour and I'm already reaching that level."

Kushina had to admit that her son had a point. How anyone could know how to get from point A to point B without getting lost down here had to be some sort of freak…or something like that.

**"I just say we blow our way out of here."**

Naruto nodded his head, but since Kushina was no longer in his mind, she could not hear what Kurama had said. So she raised an eyebrow.

"Kurama says to blow our way out," explained Naruto, "and I have to agree with him like I did in the first place."

Kushina sighed. "I know you don't care what konoha thinks anymore but…."

"They're going to find either way," interrupted Naruto. "I killed that jonin…Yamato or whatever his name was, so it's really a moot point now."

**"You couldn't resist could you?"**

Naruto nodded his head, although mentally this time.

But the decision of wether or not they were going to proceed quietly or not was taken from them as they heard footsteps.

"Someone is coming," said Kushina.

"Finally!" Naruto sighed in relief as Kakashi and Kiba with Akamaru appeared running down the hall.

Kushina narrowed her eyes. 'No point avoiding it, I guess.' She glanced at Naruto's eager face. 'But I don't think he wanted to avoid it,' she thought with a sweatdrop.

"Naruto!" said Kiba as he and Kakashi stopped before pausing and taking in the fact that there was an attractive redhead next to said blond.

Kakashi's face devoid of all colors as he recognized the said redhead. "K-kushina?" he asked, not quiet believing that it could be her.

"Kushina?" repeated Kiba, confused.

"Oh?" said Kushina surprised. "You still remember me? I don't know if I should be grateful or not…."

"But how?" asked Kakashi, coming out of his shock. "You should be dead!"

Kushina's face turned dark. "There's nothing that I have to explain to you, Kakashi. Do know though, that you." She then charged at Kakashi, who at the last second blocked Kushina's kick.

**"And she wanted to do this quietly…."**

Naruto chuckled before facing Kiba, who was looking at Kushina and Kakashi's fight with a confused face. "Oi mutt," he called out making Kiba face him with a scowl.

"Who are you calling…." he didn't get to finish as he was sent flying all the way to the end of the hallway, crashing into the wall courtesy of Naruto's punch. Akamaru ran to his master.

Kakashi could only stare wide eyed at what Naruto had done. 'What's going on?' he thought.

Kushina scowled. 'I can't fight properly in this thing,' she thought, referring to the unflattering long dress she wore. "Naruto-kun, could you be a dear and please hand me a kunai?" she asked.

Without facing her, Naruto merely threw her one. She caught it, and used it to cut the dress all the way up to her legs.

Kakashi blushed slightly at seeing some more skin. But it ended as Kushina went at him again, kunai in hand. He took out his own and clashed.

"Do you really think you can beat me?" asked Kushina with a smirk.

"We'll see…." said Kakashi trying to push her back.

Kiba held his cheek in pain as Akamaru tried to console him. He turned towards the advancing Naruto. "Why the hell did you do that for?"

"I've been meaning to do this ever since I returned," began Naruto with cold eyes, "I might as well start."

* * *

><p>"So….are you and Naruto dating?"<p>

Fu sighed in irritation at the question. For the past thirty minutes, the monkey, the nickname she had given Sakura for some reason, had been trying to start a conversation. For her part Fu didn't want to discuss a single thing with the pink haired girl. She already knew what Sakura wanted to know in any case, so what was the point?

After trying multiple times to start a conversation, Sakura had giving up and decided to just straight out and ask what had been bugging her ever since Naruto had hugged Fu in front of everyone. Naruto had been cold to everyone ever since he got back, so for him to hug someone was a big surprise. But also because she thought that Naruto still had feelings for her. Of course what he had said to her after the bell test did state otherwise, but she convinced herself that he just wanted to act like Sasuke and pretend that he didn't still like her but secretly did. Talk about self denial….

Fu thought about it for a second. She considered not responding, but a better idea came to her mind. "Yes we are," she answered making Sakura stop walking, which in turn made Fu stop and turned to Sakura. "What's it to you?"

Sakura tried her best to smile, but even Fu could see that it was forced. "Nothing. I was just wondering is all. I mean, Naruto isn't the person one would want to date."

Fu could only stare at what the monkey had said, before starting to walk again. "You're an idiot," she stated without turning to see what Sakura's reaction was.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and was about to reply. But before she could, an explosion caught their attention.

The two immediately turned and made their way towards it. 'So he's not going to stay,' thought Fu sadly as she ran behind Sakura. 'But I guess I should have expected it.'

* * *

><p>"Ugh." Kakashi held his left arm from a serious deep cut thanks to Kushina. 'I really could never beat her in kenjutsu,' he thought. 'I doubt even sensei could. And she doesn't even have a sword, but even so with just a kunai….'<p>

The ceiling was blown up thanks to Naruto making a big hole in the middle of the forest with the four shinobi standing in it. Broken parts of what made walls and doors were currently everywhere. All that remained was the light purple floor.

"Is this all you can do without your sharingan?" said Kushina as she twirled her kunai. "Because if so, then you should probably use it or else you'll really end up dead."

Kakashi remained silent but did as Kushina said and brought hid headband up. He glanced at his left arm. 'I won't be able to use any jutsu now,' he thought with a frown. 'I really should not have fought her like that.'

Kushina smirked. "Here I come!"

Naruto for his part was holding Kiba by the throat with his right hand. Akamaru laid a few feet away with cuts and bruises, dead.

"Why?" was the only thing Kiba could ask.

"Do you really have to ask?" said Naruto. He then brought his other hand forward, kunai drawn and ready to finish Kiba off. A loud gasp stopped him. He turned to where he had heard it and came face to face with Sakura's shocked face, Fu standing behind her.

"What are you doing?" asked Sakura with wide eyes.

Naruto sighed. 'Is this really that surprising?'

**"Considering how you were…yes, yes it is."**

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes at Kurama's answer. "I'm going to kill him," he answered like it was nothing, "what else does it look like I'm doing?" Before Sakura could say anything to try to stop him, Naruto finished bringing the kunai forward and sliced Kiba's head with a clean cut.

Sakura could only scream as Kiba's head fell off and landed on the ground.

Naruto let go of Kiba and the rest of his body followed.

Kakashi could not think of anything of what just happened. But he didn't have to.

"Don't forget about me!" said Kushina as she appeared behind Kakashi and delivered a powerful kick to his side. Kakashi was sent rolling to the ground.

Then Hinata and Shino arrived through the same hallway that Sakura and Fu had come in and could only stare in shock at their third teammate's dead body. Hinata burst into tears and Shino gazed at Naruto.

"I suppose it was you?" said Shino quietly.

Naruto shrugged. "Yep."

"I see…."

Kushina appeared at his side. "What about Kakashi?" asked Naruto.

"He's unconscious over there," answered Kushina. "There's really nothing for me in killing him right now. I want him to be conscious when I do. In any case, we should get going."

"No you're not," said Shino as he stepped forward. Sakura and Hinata were too shock to do anything and Fu was merely standing there with a bored look on her face.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You know something Shino, I really don't have a problem with you. I wasn't going to kill you right now, but if you try to stop me I will."

"If you're going to kill me anyways, I doesn't make a difference," stated Shino.

Naruto chuckled. "You got me. A question first though." Shino didn't respond, so Naruto took that as the sign to continue. "Why aren't you asking me why I'm doing this? Hell, you don't seem surprised at all. Why?"

"Because it's not surprising to me," he answered. "When you left unexpectedly when you were with Jiraiya-sama, Shikamaru suspected you did it on purpose and that you had reason for doing it. So did I. What you're doing right now must be that reason."

Naruto clapped. "Well done. Yes you're absolutely right. Now, you want to continue?" Bugs starting to surround Shino was his answer.

Kushina merely stepped back and so did Fu. Sakura shook her head and clenched her fists. "I don't know what's going on," she said stopping both Naruto and Shino, "but I'm not letting you leave!" That caused Hinata to come out of her shock as well, but she was still crying.

Naruto raised an amused eyebrow. "How do you plan on doing that?"

Sakura didn't respond. Instead, she simply readied her gloves and ran towards Naruto before Shino could stop her. Naruto sighed as Sakura threw punch after punch. He easily dodged all of them. One wild swing and he grabbed her right shoulder and swung her back with great force.

"I'm not playing games," stated Naruto darkly. He activated his rinnegan. "I'll show you how far we are in power."

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

Sakura and the others were blown back, including Fu.

'Sorry Fu,' thought Naruto.

Movement caught his eye. Naruto and Kushina turned and looked up towards the edge. There, standing, was Guy and his team.

"You guys," said Naruto in surprise, "what are you doing here?"

"Tsunade had a bad feeling about this mission," responded Guy with narrowed eyes as he looked around. "It seems she was right."

"Sakura-san!" said Lee to Sakura's down form.

Tenten readied her scrolls and Neji had an emotionless look.

"This is it for now," said Kushina as she stepped closer to Naruto making Guy's eyes widened.

"Kushina?" he asked in surprise.

"Hell to you too Guy," said Kushina with a smile. She then nudge Naruto. "We should get going."

Naruto took a glance at Fu who was slowly getting up before looking at Guy's team. "Should we?"

"We'll save this for later," said Kushina.

Naruto sighed before placing his right arm around Kushina's waist. "Till next time," said Naruto, but mainly to Neji. The others didn't catch that however, but Neji did. Neji did a subtle nod.

Naruto and Kushina disappeared in a dark flash.

* * *

><p>"Why did we leave?" asked Naruto as he and Kushina jumped from tree to tree.<p>

"Two reasons," began Kushina holding up two fingers, "One: So that they can return to konoha and let them know what happened. I'm sure that you wanted them to know and killing that Inuzuka let's them know that you're serious. And two," here she shrugged, "I want to get out of this dress already and shower as well. And there's the pleasures of having a real body again that I want to experiences," she finished with a smirk.

Naruto rolled his eyes at that.

**"Oi, do you think letting them know that you possessed the rinnegan was a good idea?"**

'Maybe, maybe not. But even if they know, they have nothing on what it can do, so I'm still in the advantage.' With that, the two continued on their way.

* * *

><p>Obito sighed as he laid back on a rock. Yugito was currently washing her face in a nearby stream, and Bee was humming as he wrote something in his rap book.<p>

'I didn't think Kakuzu would be defeated like that,' thought Obito. 'But I guess it couldn't be helped without letting the other know that he was working for me. Now though, I really don't know how to track wherever Kabuto went. That bastard is really slippery.'

"What now?" asked Yugito as she walked up to a tree and leaned on it.

"I don't know," answered Obito. 'I guess I should contact Mikoto….' He suddenly jumped from his spot. Paper shurikens were on it the next second. Yugito and Bee sprung into protective stances next to each other. Obito landed in front of them the next second.

Obito smirked as Pain in his six bodies and Konan appeared before them. "Well this is really unexpected. I didn't think you would show up just yet, Pain."

"You're a hindrance that needs to be taken care of," stated Pain in his Tendo body. Konan was silent from her spot.

"Heh….I see," said Obito. "So Tobi is too scared to take me out on his own so he send you, huh?"

"Take it anyway you want," responded Pain. He brought his left right arm up. **"Bansho Tenin."**

'Shit!' thought Obito as he was pulled forward.

"What is that?" asked Yugito. She didn't get a response as she and Bee dodged paper shurikens from Konan.

Obito teleported at the last second. Pain brought his hand down before the six paths took their formation.

**"Kami Chakram."**

Yugito could barely dodge the paper disc. It then circled back towards her. She was so caught up in trying to dodge she didn't notice the fact that her feet were suddenly covered in paper.

"You will be captured," said Konan quietly.

Yugito cursed before calling on nibi's chakra and blowing all the papers away. **"We'll see about that."**

"Time to care of you, fool ya fools!" said Bee as he came up from above the six paths.

**"Kuchiyose."** The Chikushodo path brought both hands down and a giant ox and a giant rhino appeared in a puff of smoke.

Bee cursed and brought out the tentacles of the hachibi as the rhino hit him dead on. The rhino and him engaged in a battle of strength but was eventually pushed back, and the ox came ramming him from the side.

The Tendo Path brought his hand up again and pulled Bee towards him. The Gakido path came forward and took hold of Bee in a choke hold.

'What's going on?' thought Bee as he felt his chakra disappear. Not only that….

**"Bee, this guy is absorbing my chakra as well!" **Bee's eyes widened but he then felt his strength leave him as well.

"That's one," muttered the Tendo path. Obito then appeared in front of the Chikushodo path and grabbed both of its shoulders and they disappeared. The Tendo body narrowed his eyes. 'I don't sense him anywhere….' Then, the ox and rhino disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'To time this,' thought the Tendo body. The Shurado path took Bee, who was now unconscious and carried him over his shoulder and took to the trees.

The Tendo body turned his head immediately.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

Obito was blown back. 'Shit…' he thought as he landed. 'I forgot these guys can share vision.' He glanced at the other paths that were watching.

A big explosion caught their attention from within the forest. A few seconds later, Konan appeared flying with Yugito being held by paper. Yugito's clothes were all nearly burned and her body had multiple injuries.

'This is not good,' thought Obito as he stood up.

"Give up," said the Tendo path, "I've worked with Tobi long enough to know a few things about that jutsu you use."

Obito chuckled. "Perhaps, but you should know that his is incomplete." He closed his eyes. "Mine however," he opened his eyes, "is complete. **'Kamui!'**

The Tendo path's eyes widened slightly as the Ningendo path was sucked into a vortex. 'It's long range too?' thought Pain.

"You're turn," said Obito.

Konan then launched shuriken after shuriken at Obito making him go in the defensive.

It gave Pain the perfect opportunity to launch a sphere of gravity into the sky. He brought his hands together. "Konan, get back!" Konan did as he instructed. **"Chibaku Tensei!"**

'What the hell!' thought Obito as the ground beneath him shook and rocks and trees, hell everything was pulled upwards. 'Fuck!' he thought as the place where he was standing was also pulled. He teleported away.

He reappeared a good distance away. He gazed at the gigantic rock that was forming. 'I didn't think he was this powerful…' thought Obito. 'And he wasn't holding back either. Tobi, you bastard…' He shook his fists. 'Dammit! This is not a setback that we need.' He began to walk away. 'Mikoto is not going to handle this well.'

* * *

><p>Tobi chuckled as Pain and Konan threw both Bee and Yugito on the ground. "You did well."<p>

"It cost me two paths though," said Pain. "I'm going to need time before I can go after the kyuubi."

"You can have it," said Tobi as he stood up. "For now, we're going to have to seal the nibi and hachibi."

"What about Kabuto?" asked Konan.

"I have white zetsu looking for him," answered Tobi. "Black zetsu is trying to find a way to get to the nanabi," he further added.

"She's in konoha," said Pain. "We can capture her at the same time as the kyuubi."

Tobi shook his head. "No, she needs to be captured first. But before that, we have things to do."

* * *

><p>"WHAT!"<p>

"Tsunade-sama, please calm down!"

Tsunade took deep breaths, making Shizune sigh in relief. Tsunade gazed at the battered shinobi. "Is this true Kakashi? And by kami, you better not be joking."

Kakashi could only nod. "It's true."

"He's right," further added Guy, "I also saw it as well."

Tsunade clenched her hands. 'How can Kushina be alive? And Naruto…..' She turned to Shizune. "Call Jiraiya back this instant. Tell him it's important." Shizune nodded and ran out the door.

Tsunade sighed looked at the gather shinobi. "Alright, go home and rest."

"We're not going after him!" asked Sakura, nearly screaming.

Tsunade turned to the girl with a glare. She was not in the mood for this. "The only reason you need is that I say so," she stated with a cold tone making Sakura flinch. "But if you must know, do you have any idea where he is?" Sakura looked down. "Exactly. Now leave."

She and the rest bowed before walking out. Hinata then stopped and then turned to Tsunade. "I-is N-naruto-kun going to be placed in the b-bingo book?" she asked with a sad look on her face.

Tsunade sighed. "I don't know…."

Hinata could only nod and walked out. The other to stay was Fu. "I have a request."

"And that is?" asked Tsunade.

"May I stay in Naruto's apartment? I've gotten use to it."

Tsunade thought about it for a second. "I suppose you could. But are…."

"I'm fine," interrupted Fu and bowed again. "Thank you." She then too walked out.

Tsunade turned to pictures of the hokages that were hanging on the wall. 'This really is a mess….'

* * *

><p>"Kushina?"<p>

Kushina could only smirk at her friend's stupefied face. "In the flesh." The three currently staying in an inn in a fairly sized village.

"But how?" asked Mikoto.

"It was in the scroll you gave me," answered Naruto. "Didn't you read it?" asked Naruto with an eyebrow.

Mikoto shook her head. "I can't. Only someone with the rinnegan can."

'Interesting,' thought Naruto, 'so Madara didn't take any chances.'

**"The bastard was smart, I'll give him that."**

The three suddenly turned to their right to see Obito appearing in a vortex. "Why are you here?" asked Mikoto with a raised eyebrow.

Obito sighed. "We have problems."

"What problems?" asked Naruto.

"Bee and Yugito were captured," he answered.

Silence.

"What?" said Mikoto in a deadly voice.

Obito sighed at that. "Pain showed up. He was stronger than I expected."

Mikoto narrowed her eyes at him. "That's all? You could have..."

"It's not a complete loss," interrupted Naruto. Mikoto turned to look at him with a glare, but didn't say anything, so he continued. "How long does it take for a bijuu to be seal?"

"With the jutsu they're using, it takes longer with the less people that are present," answered Mikoto, understanding where Naruto was going. "You want us to interrupt their sealing, am I right?"

"Exactly," said Naruto, "the only problem would be that we don't know where they are."

"Oh, I don't know about that," said Mikoto with a smirk.

The others looked at her confused. "What are you hiding?" asked Kushina, knowing very well what that look on her friend's face meant.

**"She would be talking about me,"** said black zetsu as he appeared next to her.

"You!" said Obito pointing at him. "What the hell is this!" he said, turning to Mikoto with narrowed eyes. "How long have you two be working together?"

**"Hello to you too," **said black zetsu sarcastically. Naruto and Kushina merely watched this play out.

Mikoto sighed. 'Guess I don't have a choice,' she thought. She looked at zetsu though. "I thought I told you that you shouldn't be here."

Black zetsu shrugged. **"Tobi merely wants me to see how we can get the nanabi without hassle. Of course, he doesn't know how long that's going to take. Besides,"** he looked at Naruto**, "I've wanted to meet him personally."**

"Why?" asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

He chuckled. **"So you don't know yet? Pity..."**

"What are you talking about?" asked Naruto, quiet tired about the fact that no one would just tell him what the big deal was.

"Answer the question," interrupted Obito, looking straight at Mikoto.

Mikoto sighed. "It's quite simple. I was saved from the massacre by the same person who saved you."

Obito's eyes widened. "What? You mean that..."

Mikoto nodded. "That's right. Madara saved me."

**"So he's involved here too is he?" **said Kurama. Naruto just stayed silent, wanting to know what had happened.

**"Technically it was me," **said black zetsu.

"Only because Madara ordered you to," shot back Mikoto.

**"True..."**

"Wait a second," said Kushina looking at Obito and Mikoto. "Just what did Madara want by saving you two? Not only that, but how are you even unharmed from your incident? I heard that you were crushed by a boulder," she finished, looking at Obito.

Obito sighed. "The truth is that I died that day."

"What?" said Kushina. "But you're here!"

"So are you," responded Obito, "and yet you were also dead."

'So Madara did the same thing I did?' thought Naruto.

Obito turned to Naruto. "I take it you used that summoning jutsu?" At Naruto's nod, he continued. "Madara did the same thing. There's another jutsu that can be used as well, but if you use that you die. That summoning is more convenient."

"What summoning?" asked Mikoto.

"It's a summoning jutsu where you could summon the shinigami," answered Naruto making Mikoto's eyes widened.

"There's a summoning jutsu like that?" she asked.

"Me and Obito are proof of that," responded Kushina.

Obito nodded. "Yes, and unlike the **Shiki Fujin **you don't have to sacrifice your soul. Just others."

"That's a very convenient jutsu..." muttered Mikoto.

"Yes it is," agreed Obito. "But the point is, why didn't he tell me that he was saving you?" he asked to Mikoto, and then turned to black zetsu. "And you, I thought you went off with Tobi."

Black zetsu scoffed. **"I'm basically Madara. Do you seriously think I would follow that idiot? You of all people should know how Madara felt about Tobi's plan."**

"So you were just faking this whole time?" asked Obito in bewilderment.

Black zetsu nodded. **"Yes. I was feigning the whole time in not knowing who Mikoto was or who you were."**

"You do realize how many times I could have killed you!" exclaimed Obito.

Black zetsu merely shrugged.

"Something doesn't make sense here," spoke up Naruto. The others turned to look at him. "Wouldn't have that other version of yourself have known that as well?" he asked and turn to Mikoto. "And just how did you escape that night? Itachi himself was shocked when he found out you were alive, and I find it pretty hard to believe that you could have had fooled him with some genjutsu. That was his specialty."

Mikoto chuckled. "Pretty clever, aren't you? But yes, it wasn't a genjutsu that tricked Itachi. It ties to the fact that white zetsu doesn't know who Obito is." She paused. "It was the original white zetsu, the very first one that Madara himself created, that took my place and died that night."

"Wait a minute," interrupted Obito, "those clones go back to their original form once they're killed."

**"That's Tobi's fault,"** said black zetsu**, "Madara created the first white zetsu perfectly. Tobi however, never figured how to duplicate that."**

"I see..." said Obito as he closed his eyes.

"So who really is Tobi?" asked Naruto.

Mikoto glanced at Obito who sighed. "That is...complicated," he muttered.

"And this whole thing isn't?" said Kushina incredulously.

"Fine." Obito looked up. "I guess you could call him my dark self."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, remembering Dark Naruto. "What do you mean by that?" asked Kushina.

Obito shrugged. "I don't understand it fully. But when I died, there was a part of me that resented what had happened. That it shouldn't have been me. When Madara brought me back, that feeling somehow gained life in it's own, and there were two of us. At first, it wasn't bad really. He was like a new brother really. The only problem was that since that feeling was born when half of my body was crushed, so was he. The only reason Madara bothered to save him was because he was intrigued. Tobi always did resent me for how he was born. But when Rin died everything changed."

"Rin..." muttered Kushina, knowing fully well that Obito had feelings for the girl.

"He pleaded with Madara to bring her back, but by then Madara didn't posses the rinnegan anymore. Of course then, he decided to complete the crazy idea that Madara once told us was his plan."

"And that is?" asked Naruto.

**"The ****Tsuki no me Keikaku," **answered black zetsu.

"So everything Tobi is doing is Madara's plan?" said Kushina.

Obito shook his head. "No. Madara gave up on that plan."

"Why?" she asked.

"He found a better one," he said glancing at Naruto who narrowed his eyes.

"I'm nobody's plan. What I'm doing is all because of my own free will."

"I never said that," said Obito shaking his head.

"Then what are..."

**"That's for you to find out," **interrupted black zetsu.

"So he's doing this all for Rin?" continued Kushina incredulously before an argument could break out.

"I know..." muttered Obito.

"If he's yourself, then why didn't you do this as well?" asked Naruto.

Obito sighed. "Because I know Rin would never agree with it. She died. That's the truth of it all. Besides, I'm sane enough to know that Madara's first plan was stupid. Hell, he himself realized it too."

"And why did he feel the need to save you two in particular?" asked Naruto.

**"To represent the uchiha,"**answered black zetsu.

"In what?"

Black zetsu chuckled. **"Again, that's for you to find out."**

Naruto turned to the other two. "I don't know," admitted Mikoto with irritation. "Annoying bastard has never told me," she said, pointing at black zetsu.

"And you've never forced him?" asked Naruto.

Mikoto shrugged. "I'm alive. Do you really think I'm going to push it?"

Obito shook his head as well. "That's something he didn't tell me. Not that it really matters to me."

"Well at least we're all on the same page now," said Kushina as she rubbed her temples.

'No we're not,' thought Naruto remembering Mito's involvement as well, but didn't say anything.

"Well now we need to figure out what to do with this setback," said Mikoto. She turned to black zetsu. "Get going, will you? We need to find out where Tobi is sealing the bijuu."

Black zetsu chuckled as began to sink. **"A pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto." **He disappeared completely.

"I'm going then," said Naruto.

"Wait a minute," interrupted Kushina. "I still need a shower, and a change of clothes. And you know what..." she finished with a smirk.

Naruto sighed at her insistance.

"I'm going to get Sasuke and the others," said Obito as he teleported as well, already knowing what was going to happen.

Mikoto turned to the last two. "How about some fun in the shower?" she suggested with a smirk that was mirrored by Kushina.

Naruto only had one thought. 'Jackpot...'

* * *

><p>Fu sighed as she laid on the bed in Naruto's apartment, having already read the note. A knock on the door caused her to get up. She opened it and was greeted to Anko's smiling face.<p>

"So you're here," muttered Fu.

"No need to be in the dumps," said Anko as she flung her arm around Fu's shoulders. "The brat is going to be back. And when he does, he'll destroy this village and then we won't have to leave him again."

Fu sighed but nodded. Anko smiled some more. "Good. Now we have a job to do…"

* * *

><p><strong>Yo people<strong>

**I must say I'm on a roll. Three updates this quickly. Don't know what to say really.**

**But anyways, here it is. Obito got his ass whopped alright and now Bee and Yugito are captured. Not to mention the fact that Naruto has left the village. And finally everything is revealed! Well not everything, there is one thing left, but that's for later. Unexpected was it? I know, but it just seemed right.**

**Tell me what you thought. Good or bad or whatever. And if I did miss something, then tell me.**

**Till next time.**


	26. Showdown

**"Hmm…."- Tailed beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 25: Showdown<strong>

Tap.

"We just think that this whole thing could have been avoided if you had just simply listened to us!"

Tap.

"And now because of you're undying trust on the boy, this has happened!"

Tap.

"Would you stop doing that!?"

Tsunade stopped her tapping on her desk with her finger when she saw that the conversation had stopped. "Is that all?" she asked with a bored tone.

Both Homura and Koharu flushed in anger, but Danzo stepped up. "You can't just simply ignore this Tsunade," he began, "this is a serious matter. That boy needs to be captured and brought back here immediately," he finished. But then he smiled. "Of course, if you can't do that, then I suppose a new hokage should just step up that can handle this matter accordingly."

Tsunade internally scowled at that. "I know what needs to be done," she said with a frown.

Danzo was silent for a few moments before slightly nodding. "I hope you do. And there's one last matter I would like to talk to you about."

"And that is?" asked Tsunade.

"The nanabi jinchuriki," he answered. "I hope you now see that me training her is a good option now. The boy had spent the little time he was back with only her. It wouldn't surprise me if they're working together."

Tsunade raised her hand. "Personal life has nothing to do with this. Besides, they were just friends at the most."

"Is that why she's still staying in the boy's apartment?" said Danzo incredulously. "I find it really hard to believe that people who are just friends would do that."

Tsunade smiled. "But of course you would. After all, friendships and relationships of the sort aren't your strongpoint after all."

Danzo couldn't keep the frown from appearing. "It still begs the point that…."

"Nothing will be done about Fu," interrupted Tsunade. "That is final."

"At least have Ibiki and…." began Homura.

"I said it's final," interrupted Tsunade. "Now, if you could please leave my office so I can find a way to deal with this, I would appreciate it." Danzo had a disapproving look on his face but didn't say anything, instead opting to leaving Tsunade's office.

Tsunade sighed as the last of the elders left and the door closed. 'They do have a point,' thought Tsunade although not to happy at that thought. 'Still, could have Naruto and Fu be more than just friends? If I have Inoichi go through her memories, I don't know what kind of effect that's going to have on her. Not to mention the fact that she's a jinchuriki as well. If the bijuu somehow got out because of this….' Tsunade rubbed her forehead. 'This really is a mess.'

The window opening to her right caused her to sigh. "About time you got here."

Jiraiya was merely silent as he stepped in the office. "So….is it true?" he asked quietly.

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. Naruto left but this time he made it perfectly clear that it was intentional and hostile."

Jiraiya sighed sadly. "That doesn't surprise me that much. I guess it's obvious that he somehow knows about what happened with the uzumaki clan."

"Yes," agreed Tsunade before leaning back on her chair with a sigh. "I don't know what to do anymore," she muttered.

"There's other problems," began Jiraiya.

"Oh fucking great," said Tsunade. "What is it now?"

"It's not much," he continued, "but there have been significant fights all over the Land of Fire. It seems someone is taking care of akatsuki."

"What!" exclaimed Tsunade as she looked at him. "What do you mean someone is taking care of akatsuki?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "The details are sketchy, but it seems that recently a lot members have died. I don't know anything else. Hell, no one does."

"Do you think Naruto is tied to this?" asked Tsunade.

Jiraiya sighed. "I don't know hime, but it wouldn't surprise me."

"There is one thing I forgot to tell you," began Tsunade.

"And that is?" asked Jiraiya.

Tsunade sighed. "Kushina is alive."

Silence. And then more silence. Until….

"Hahaha. Good one Tsunade," said Jiraiya as he chuckled without any real humor but then saw Tsunade's serious face. "You're serious?"

"Do you think I would be joking about something like this?" she asked.

"But she died along with Minato that night!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

"I don't know," responded Tsunade but then muttered, "maybe it has something to do with those eyes…."

But Jiraiya caught it. "Wait, what eyes?" he asked.

Tsunade looked at him a raised eyebrow. "You mean I didn't tell you?" Jiraiya shook his head making Tsunade sigh. "Alright. Well according to Guy's report, Naruto's eyes were different. They were grey with ringed pattern….."

"Wait!" interrupted Jiraiya with wide eyes. "Are you sure about this report!?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. Sakura and the others said the same thing too, and that Naruto managed to somehow use some invisible force which pushed them back with great force."

Jiraiya slumped down. "That can only be the rinnegan…"

"The rinnegan?" repeated Tsunade with disbelief. "You mean the same one that the Rikudo Sennin was said to possess? That's just a myth…."

"It's not," interrupted Jiraiya, "there was one student of mine that possessed it," he said remembering about the trio of ame. "But he died…."

"But how could Naruto have them?" asked Tsunade.

"I don't know," answered Jiraiya but then remembered about the prophecy that he was told. 'Naruto you can't possibly be….'

Tsunade slumped back down again. "Well, we just have more questions than answers now."

Jiraiya had to agree on that. "There's also some news that I was on my way to tell you when you called me," he added.

"More?" said Tsunade with a tired sigh.

"This is actually some good news for a change," he replied.

"And what is that?" asked Tsunade.

"I've finally found where akatsuki's base is."

More silence again. And there was more. And more. And then….

"WHAT!" screamed Tsunade as she stood up. "Do you know what this means!"

Jiraiya held up his hand, stopping the excited woman on her tracks. "Now hold up, hime."

"Don't tell me to hold up!" snapped back Tsunade. "With this we can finally launch a counterstrike and finish that organization once and for all!"

"Really?" said Jiraiya sarcastically. "Have you forgotten the old saying- 'Knowledge is power.'"

"What's that got to do with this?" asked Tsunade.

"It has everything to do with this!" replied Jiraiya. "If we march in there without knowing a single thing we are doomed to failure."

Realization hit Tsunade. "Please don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking…."

"I don't know about that," said Jiraiya with a chuckle as he glanced at her chest.

"Be serious about this," said Tsunade with a twitching eyebrow.

"Alright, alright," replied Jiraiya as he held his hands up. "The best way is for me to go in there and scout. Then we'll know what we're dealing with and be better prepared."

"You're not going in there alone," replied Tsunade with narrowed eyes. "I'll have some anbu accompany you."

"No," said Jiraiya as he shook his head. "Anbu would just slow me down. Besides, the more people there are the higher the chance of being caught. I'm the only one who can do this."

"Jiraiya…."

"I'm not backing down on this," replied Jiraiya as he made his way to the window in which he came in. 'It's about time I do something right with my life,' he thought.

"And what about Naruto?" asked Tsunade. "I don't know what to do about him anymore…."

"You'll figure it out," answered Jiraiya without turning around. "I have faith in you." He jumped out.

Tsunade sighed as she closed her eyes and sat back down. 'The only thing I got is Fu. But how should I proceed with this….' A knock on the door prevented her from dwelling on it any longer. "Come in." she said, trying to keep the irritation in check.

The door opened, and Shizune walked in with three people behind her.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow when she who it was. "Kazekage-dono, well this is a surprise."

Gaara nodded his head and bowed. "Yes, but there is something that I must really speak to you about, Hokage-dono," he said. "In private," he further added.

Tsunade nodded. "I see…Shizune, if you please."

"Kankuro, Temari," said Gaara quietly. The three nodded before walking out and closing the door.

"Now," began Tsunade as she folded her hands in her desk, "What is is it that you wish to discuss?"

* * *

><p>"You know there's something that's been bugging me…."<p>

Naruto raised an eyebrow at what Kushina had just said. The two were currently curled up in the king size bed with Kushina running her hands up and down Naruto's chest. Mikoto had left about an hour before, saying she needed fresh air.

"What is that?" asked Naruto.

"Well," began Kushina,"I don't know if I'm over thinking this or not, but I remember Obito saying that Madara didn't posses his rinnegan at the end of his life." At Naruto's nod, she continued. "Well, what happened to it?"

Before Naruto could respond, someone else did. "He gave it away," answered Mikoto as she walked into the room, fully clothed, and sat down in one of the chairs that was in the room.

"He gave it away?" repeated Kushina, confused. "To whom? And why would he do that?"

"The who part is easy," responded Mikoto. "It's an orphan boy from ame who is from the uzumaki clan. He is now Pain and the supposed leader of akatsuki."

"Interesting," said Naruto. "And here I thought I was the last one."

Kushina shook her head. "No. A few did make it out. And they probably married and had children with other people."

Mikoto then continued where she had left off. "Now as to the why….that's something that I don't know. Madara was a very secretive person."

'Just like Mito,' thought Naruto.

"I'm sure black zetsu knows," commented Kushina. "Why haven't you and Obito simply forced him to tell you?"

Mikoto sighed. "For one, it doesn't really make much difference to me. But the other is that that bastard is immune to genjutsu."

"Seriously?" asked Naruto. "How?"

Mikoto shrugged. "I'm suspecting that's how Madara made him to be. Hell, I've even threaten to kill him but he shakes it off. I even tried to seduce him once…." she admitted with a blush.

Kushina laughed. "And how did that go?"

Mikoto turned her head with a huff. "The bastard is gay…." was her response, which made Kushina just laugh more.

**"Finally someone agrees with me!"**

'You just think that just because he's basically a clone of Madara,' replied Naruto with a roll of his eyes.

**"Exactly. That's a good enough reason, isn't it?"**

'Right….'

Then they heard a beeping sound. Mikoto took out a small disc and smirked and turned to the two. "I suggest you two get dress. The fun is about to begin."

The two uzumaki nodded and got up, with Naruto looking for his pants…again. 'Seriously, why do they disappear all the time!'

Kushina walked up to the closet located on the far side of the room, and opened it. She grinned at what she saw. Mikoto walked up next to her and chuckled. "I take it you like it?" said Mikoto, amused.

Kushina nodded and grabbed what was her new shinobi gear. It consisted of a pair of really short ninja shorts, gloves for each hand, black ninja sandals, and a tight black and orange jacket. As she got dressed, she saw something else that made her stop. "Is that….?" she asked to Mikoto who nodded. "Yes. Your old sword. I couldn't leave it in konoha, now could I?"

Kushina grabbed it and inspected it, giving it some test swings. "I don't know what to say…."

Mikoto shrugged. "Don't say anything. Consider this a sorry for not doing much for your son."

Kushina nodded her head. After Naruto and Kushina finished dressing, the two proceeded to make their way out of the inn, and to ame, to finish akatsuki and once and for all.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this?"<p>

Anko nodded her head. Currently, we find Anko and Fu in an underground room, provided by Anko herself. When Fu had asked what this room was used for, Anko merely grinned and answered with a 'Let's just say this is where all the really naughty boys go to and never get out from.' That was enough for Fu to not ask about it again.

"You're going to be put under suspicion Fu. You were the only the brat really hung out with when he was here. Well, in public at least. Even though Tsunade doesn't want to believe that you're helping Naruto, she's going to be put under a lot of pressure. I mean, he did kill a future clan head," said Anko.

Fu had to admit that what Anko said was right. But that didn't mean she liked it. "But I really don't want to forget what happened."

Anko sighed. "I get how you feel, but it's necessary. You get busted, hell, everyone here get's busted! And you may never see Naruto again. You want that?" Fu shook her head causing Anko to smile. "Good, now we need to do this quickly. Who knows how long it's going to before Tsunade sends for you."

"But….you've done this before, right?" asked Fu meekly.

Anko grinned. "Of course. When you're in the interrogation department as long as I have, you learn a thing or two. Now hold still." Anko placed her left hand on Fu's head and concentrated. Footsteps could be heard as well as the opening and closing of the door that leads to the room. "What are you doing here?" asked Anko as she concentrated.

"I just wanted to see this," answered Neji as he looked on. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Of course I think…." She did't get to finish as she was blown back. Neji took a step back as red chakra surrounded Fu. Anko shook her head from her spot on the ground. "What the hell!" she said.

Neji merely narrowed his eyes.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing!"<p>

**"Protecting you, that's what."**

Fu stepped back as Chomei snarled the answer. "But I allowed them to! This is necessary for allowing Naruto to succeed!"

Chomei shook his head. **"Perhaps, but my way is better."**

"And what way is that?" asked Fu with disbelief.

Chomei snarled again. **"You should be grateful that I'm even offering my assistance in the first place, you insolent human!"**

Knowing that it would end bad if she angered the bijuu any further, Fu sighed. "I'm sorry. I just don't want Naruto to fail because of me."

Chomei was silent for a few moments, before answering. **"In that case, you should just hear me out first before jumping into conclusions."**

Fu rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry. It's just that you and me have never really had a relationship."

Chomei nodded. **"Indeed, but enough of that. Just tell that woman that if anyone tries to come into your mind and try to find anything, I'll simply blast them out."**

"Can you do that?" asked Fu.

Chomei nodded again. **"Yes. You're seal is not strong enough to prevent me from doing that. And even if it was, since we're in agreement here I think you would allow me to."**

It was Fu's turn to nod. "I see. Umm….thank you."

Chomei shook his head. **"Don't let it go to your head. I'm only doing this for my own benefit. Now go."**

* * *

><p>Neji and Anko sighed in relief as the red chakra disappeared. "We're so lucky this room has seals for this type of crap," commented Anko as Fu's eyes opened.<p>

"What happened?" asked Neji.

Fu smiled. "It's just that we don't have to worry about anyone trying to get into my head now."

"And why is that?" asked Anko with a raised eyebrow.

"Nanabi said that he would just did what he did and forcefully kick them out in anyone tries."

"I see…." muttered Anko.

"Doesn't konoha have seals that prevent jinchurikis from using a bijuu's chakra?" asked Neji to Anko.

"No, well yes," answered Anko.

"That was helpful," said Neji with a sweatdrop.

Anko scratched the back of her head sheepishly before turning serious. "The only one with that skill level would be Jiraiya, and unless he took part…."

"But if he did, would this still work?" asked Neji.

"I don't know," said Anko as she scratched her head. "It would prevent Fu from using the nanabi's chakra out here, true, but I don't know if that would work while inside her mind as well."

**"It won't,"** said Chomei from within Fu's mind, causing said girl to look around confused. "What?" she said out loud, making Neji and Anko look at her confused.

Chomei sighed. **"It's me from within you. And don't say anything out loud. Just think it, and I can hear you."**

'Like this?'

**"Yes. Now tell that woman, that no, in your mind, my chakra would still force them out."**

Fu nodded and focused on Neji and Anko who were looking at her strangely. "Sorry. I was just speaking with nanabi," she explained to them.

"Ah," said Anko nodding her head, "so what did he have to say about this?"

"That he would still be able to force anyone out if they came to my mind," she answered.

"That's convenient then," commented Neji.

"Well that takes care of that then," said Anko. "The only thing would be if you're interrogated by Ibiki…" she stopped and paled. "Oh crap."

"What?' asked Fu.

Anko looked at her seriously. "How good are you from resisting torture?"

Fu didn't like the sound of that. "I-i don't know. I've never been officially tortured before."

"You think Tsunade would go that far?" asked Neji.

Anko sighed. "I really don't know. But we should be prepared for anything." She then smirked. "I'm going to enjoy this."

Fu shrank back at Anko's smirk. "What?" she said.

Anko's smirk just got wider as she approached the frightened girl.

Neji sweatdropped when Anko laughed evilly. 'You've chosen a weird ally, Naruto.'

* * *

><p><em><strong>One day later…..<strong>_

"So this is ame….it's umm wet?"

Both Kushina and Mikoto rolled their eyes at Naruto's comment about ame. The trio were currently walking down a street in the middle level of the village. "Yes it's wet. What gave you that idea?" said Mikoto sarcastically as the rain poured all around.

Naruto only shrugged. "I call them as I see them. Now….I'm going to guess that they're sealing the bijuus in the highest tower in the village, am I right?"

Now that caused Mikoto to blink in surprise. "Actually, yes. How did you know that?"

Naruto shrugged again. "It was just a guess based on the guidelines of every villain in the world."

"And that is?" asked Kushina, amused.

"Why, to always have the biggest building and conduct all your evil schemes in there," he answered in all honesty, causing both women to sigh. "Is Obito going to be joining us?" asked Naruto.

"He was suppose to be here now," said Mikoto with a thoughtful look on her face, "maybe he's having problems in finding Sasuke."

* * *

><p>"All bets are placed! Come and see, the one and only, the amazing Obito!"<p>

Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Karin sweatdropped as Obito was on stage with another civilian man, sitting down and drinking sake one shot after the other. There was a crowd around the stage and around them as well, screaming and cheering.

"How long has he been doing this for?" asked Karin, shaking her head.

Suigetsu shook his head as well. "Your family is weird, Sasuke."

Sasuke could only nod his head in agreement to what Suigetsu had said.

* * *

><p>"In any case, we might have to do this on our own," finished Mikoto.<p>

"What are the chances of them knowing that we're here?" asked Naruto, causing both Mikoto and Kushina to shrug.

* * *

><p>Within the biggest building of ame, the extraction was indeed taking place. The one being sealed at the moment was the nibi. Bee laid in one of the corners, still unconscious due to a suppressing seal. The only one's present however were Tobi, Pain in his Tendo body, and Black zetsu. Konan was arranging the final preparations for the two new bodies that were to replace the two paths that Obito had taken down.<p>

Pain opened his eyes, causing Tobi to turn to him. "What is it?"

"We have company," he answered.

**'So they're here,'** thought Black zetsu.

Tobi narrowed his eyes. "Who is it?"

"I don't know," answered Pain, "but they all have high chakra levels, in particular two of them."

'Hmm….who could that be?' thought Tobi.

Konan then appeared in sheets of paper. "Pain, the bodies have been prepared. They are now ready for use."

Pain nodded. "I see. Good job, Konan." Konan didn't respond. She merely went to take her spot, when Tobi stopped her.

"Konan," he began, causing said woman to turn to him. "I have a job for you."

"And that is?" she asked.

"There's some intruders that need to be taken care of," he answered as his sharingan glowed in the darkness.

* * *

><p>Naruto, Kushina, and Mikoto walked in a moderate pace towards the tower. Why moderate you may ask? Because they weren't really in a any rush. They knew it would take awhile for a single bijuu to be sealed due to their low numbers, but two of them? So there really wasn't any reason to be in a hurry. The other reason was because the rain had finally ended. It was clear skies for a change. That ended however as they turned down an alley. Before them was Konan in her 'angel' form.<p>

'So they do know we're here,' thought Naruto looking at the only female member of akatsuki.

"You're not going through," stated Konan with emotionless voice.

"I don't know about that," said Mikoto as she stepped forward. "You two can go on ahead," she said to Naruto and Kushina. They nodded before they taking off. Konan made to try to stop them but Mikoto was in front of her in an instant, sword in hand, swinging it straight for her head. Konan disappeared completely in paper. Mikoto smirked as notice a few strands of blue hair on the tip of her sword.

Konan reappeared again a few feet away, noticing the hair as well. 'She's fast,' thought Konan. 'I'm going to have to take caution with that.'

'That jutsu of hers is going to be a problem,' thought Mikoto. She brought her hands together and formed seals at an alarming rate.

**"Fire Style: Hibashiri!"**

Konan scowled as a ring of fire surrounded the whole area. 'I see…' thought Konan. 'I'm at a disadvantage in this terrain…' She made to fly again to get out, but Mikoto was on top of her first, bringing her sword upon her once again. Konan scowled as she barely managed to dodge again but at the cost of more strands of hair. It didn't end however as Mikoto carried through with her attacks.

Konan could feel the heat from the fire ring as she was pushed back. She dispersed into papers again causing Mikoto to scowl.

**"Kami Bunshin."**

Mikoto smirked as she was surrender by dozens of Konans. 'So she's not running away, is she?' thought Mikoto. 'Good. That makes things easier.'

Konan frown as she felt blood drop down her right cheek from a cut thanks to Mikoto.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

The great fireball burned half of the paper clones in part to the terrain that they found themselves in. The remaining clones then went at Mikoto. Mikoto's eyes widened slightly as she noticed paper bombs attached to them. 'Crafty bitch….'

Mikoto launched another great fireball but some of the clones managed to dodge. 'Shit!' She managed to jump out of the way at the last second but lost the grip on her sword. Mikoto scowled and activated her sharingan and noticed Konan coming at her with a paper spear. She focused her sharingan on Konan. This caused Konan to stop and look around, causing Mikoto to smirk.

'Where am I?' thought Konan looking around. It was all dark. 'Wait…genjutsu!' But it was too late. When she came to in the real world, she was puking out blood. She looked down and saw the sword sticking through her chest. She turned to see Mikoto's cold sharingan eyes. "This is it for you…Konan." She took the sword out, causing Konan to fall face first on the ground.

'Pity,' thought Mikoto as she looked at Konan's dead body, 'one of the smart ones and yet she died meaninglessly.' She then turned to the tower.

* * *

><p>Within the sealing room, things were quiet again except for the sound of the sealing process. But that ended as an explosion from above caught their attention. The ceiling came crashing down.<p>

"What is this!" said Pain.

Naruto and Kushina came landed through the newly created hole. "Well hello there!" said Naruto with a wave.

"You…." said Tobi. 'What is he of all people doing here? I would have thought that Mikoto or Obito would have come….'

Pain narrowed his eyes. "You have made a terrible mistake," he said.

"No," said Naruto, "you made a mistake in interfering with us." He brought his hands down. **"Kuchiyose!"**

A loud roar shook the whole building. Tobi took a step back as he gazed at the creature that came out of the smoke. 'What is this?' thought Tobi.

**"Uzumaki….about time you summoned me."**

Naruto chuckled from his spot on top of his summon's head. "Sorry Moukaryuu. But don't worry. Now you can have some fun." Kushina shook her head from her spot next to Naruto.

'A dragon?' thought Tobi. 'But those annoying creatures have never accepted a summoner since the Rikudo Sennin!'

"You will pay for this," stated Pain as the sealing stopped and Yugito fell on the ground, barely alive. He brought his hand up but Naruto was quicker. Naruto activated his own rinnegan, catching both Tobi and Pain off guard.

**"Bansho Tenin!"**

'What!' thought Pain as he was pulled forward towards the dragon's open wide mouth. 'No you don't!' **"Shinra Tensei!"**

Naruto cursed as they were push back. "Hold on!" he said to Moukaryuu.

**"I know!"** he screamed back as he flapped his wings. They were pushed all the way through the wall and into outside.

Pain merely gazed as the dragon circled the whole tower.

"Deal with them," ordered Tobi.

Pain didn't respond. Instead the rest of the paths came in through the hole that Naruto and Kushina had created, including the newly replaced ones as well. They jumped through the whole of the building and followed Naruto and the dragon.

Tobi turned to black zetsu, only to find him gone. 'What?' thought Tobi with narrowed eyes. He didn't get to think anything else as Kushina fazed right through him and landed on the floor. Tobi chuckled as he jumped off the statue and landed in front of her. "And here I thought you were dead….I must say it seems that everyone that is suppose to be dead is alive now. Really, that's just annoying."

Kushina shrugged. "I don't know want to say, really."

"Do you think you can beat me?" asked Tobi.

Kushina merely narrowed her eyes and took a stance, taking out her sword. 'No,' thought Kushina, 'I don't have the speed to counter your jutsu. But I can buy some time….'

* * *

><p>Jiraiya could only stare wide eyed at what he was seeing. There in front of him, was Naruto flying on top of a dragon and fighting six people that had the same hair color and the akatsuki cloak.<p>

'What's going on?' thought Jiraiya.

He shielded his eyes as one of the six unknowns came flying straight into a building next to him.

'I need to get closer.'

* * *

><p>Pain scowled at how the Ningendo path was crushed, but it didn't matter that much. That path was much better used for interrogation, not combat. He focused his attention on Naruto who was still standing on top of the flying dragon. Rinnegan met rinnegan.<p>

"How could you possess these eyes?" asked Pain in his Tendo path.

Naruto shrugged. "How did you come about yours?" he asked back, although knowing the answer already.

"I awakened them," he answered truthfully, or what he thought was the truth.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. 'So he doesn't know, huh? Oh well, I guess there's nothing to talk about.' "Moukaryuu…."

Said dragon merely opened his mouth, a large fireball forming.

'The heat,' thought Pain as the Gakido path came in front of them. The dragon launched the fireball and the Gakido path tried to absorb it. Key word is tried. The Tendo's eyes widened as the Gakido path was burned to a crisp. He and the rest jumped out of the way of the still advancing powerful fireball.

'What?' thought Pain as he and the rest of the paths landed on another rooftop. 'He should have absorb at that….'

Naruto smirked at Pain's shocked face. "You shouldn't be so surprised," said Naruto, "the rinnegan can only absorb chakra. Mystical beings such as dragons don't have chakra."

The Shurado path then launched his missiles at Naruto and Moukaryuu, the latter flying around the area in an attempt to dodge them. **"Kuchiyose." **The Chikushodo path brought her hands down and a giant multi-headed dog appeared and rushed after Naruto.

**"Oi, I want some fun in this too!"**

Naruto couldn't respond to Kurama as the Shurado landed on Moukaryuu and engaged Naruto in taijutsu. **"Get off me!"** screamed the dragon. Naruto jumped upwards to dodge the metallic tail the mechanize body possessed.

In mid-air he saw the summoned dog heading towards them, causing Naruto to recall the dragon. 'Now!' **"Shinra Tensei!"** The dog and the Shurado path were blown back.

The Tendo path turned his head just in time to dodge a **rasengan**. 'What now?' he thought before his eyes locked with Jiraiya. "Jiraiya-sensei…." he muttered.

'Nagato,' thought Jiraiya as he gazed at the Tendo path. 'No….Yahiko?' He didn't get to dwell on it as he was forced to dodge a giant bird thanks to the Chikushodo path. Jiraiya jumped on its giant beak to dodge it.

Naruto and the now destroyed Shurado path landed on the same rooftop. Naruto scowled as he saw Jiraiya. 'What is he doing here?' he thought.

The Tendo, Chikushodo, and the Jigokudo path remained. 'I can't believe I've lost three paths already,' thought Pain.

"Naruto!" said Jiraiya.

"Leave," responded Naruto darkly. "This doesn't concern you."

Jiraiya scowled. "That's where you're wrong. I might not know what you're planning, but I'm bringing you back to konoha one way or another."

Naruto snorted. "Really? You too? I would have thought that you would know that is just pointless."

Jiraiya didn't respond. He was about to charge when Pain interrupted. "As heart warming as this reunion is, we have business to take care of," he said to Naruto who had to agree.

**"Bansho Tenin."** Both Naruto and Jiraiya were pulled toward the three paths as the bird from before mad its way to intercept them.

'Enough of this,' thought Naruto as he activated his chakra cloak. Two **Wind style: Rasen-Shuriken **formed on each of his shoulders. He threw them both at the three remaining paths.

**"Kuchiyose!"** Both Jiraiya and the Chikushodo path screamed as they each brought their hands down. A giant panda appeared before the three paths. Jiraiya summoned Gamaken to cover himself from the approaching bird.

The panda unfortunately was utterly crushed but it gave the paths time to jump out of the away. Naruto appeared in front of them in an orange spark and crushed the Chikushodo path with a **rasengan**.

The bird disappeared in a puff of smoke. 'What power….' thought Jiraiya as he stood upon Gamaken.

'Fast!' thought Pain Naruto appeared between the last remaining two paths. **"Shinra Tensei!"** both paths were blown away. Arms came out of from Naruto's back and grabbed them both. He brought them together in front of him. "This is it for you," said Naruto. He crushed them both.

Jiraiya stood there wide eyed. 'He could very well be faster than Minato,' he thought.

The bodies of the last two remaining paths fell to the ground and the chakra cloak disappeared. Then Naruto too disappeared in a black flash.

"Naruto!" said Jiraiya as he jumped from Gamaken and made to follow him. Before that he turned to Gamaken. "Tell the Pa and Ma what has happened." Before Gamaken could respond, Jiraiya dispelled him and followed Naruto.

* * *

><p>Kushina could only scowl. She was sporting multiple cuts and bruises and was kneeling on the floor, panting.<p>

"You've lasted longer than I thought," said Tobi with humor. "But unfortunately play time has come to an end."

"I agree," said a voice right behind him, making Tobi's single eye widened. Naruto brought a **rasengan** from above him and smashed right at Tobi's back. Naruto then appeared next to Kushina.

"I take it you won," stated Kushina.

Naruto merely nodded and turned to look as Tobi tried to get up. "You…." he began coughing.

"This is it for you Tobi," said Naruto.

Tobi's mangekyo appeared through the whole in his mask. "Do you really think I'm gonna let a brat like you defeat me?"

Naruto shrugged. "You're already done for. Akatsuki is finished and so is your plan."

"Don't…" He didn't get to finish as Mikoto appeared and stabbed him with her sword. "You really should be watchful of your surroundings more," she stated. She then took her sword out and sliced his head off clean. "Man, I've been wanting to do that for years!" she exclaimed.

Naruto merely turned to the **Gedo Mazo **with a studying gaze.

"Naruto!"

Said blond sighed in irritation as Jiraiya came in through the hole in the wall. He took in the whole situation which just made him even more confused. "What's going on here?" he asked.

"You should have minded you're own business," responded Naruto without turning to look at him. He then walked up to the statue and stood at the center, closed his eyes and concentrated.

Mikoto and Kushina stood next to each other and blocked Jiraiya's path. "Kushina…" he began.

"Save it," interrupted Kushina. "I don't want to hear it."

"Well," continued Mikoto, sharingan activated, "shall we begin?"

* * *

><p>Naruto opened his eyes and all around him were all the bijuu except for Chomei.<p>

**"Why have you called us here, kyuubi?"** asked the yonbi.

**"And why is he here?"** further asked the gobi, pointing at Naruto.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," answered Naruto instead of Kurama.

**"And he's here because he's the very person that the Rikudo Sennin told us would reunite us,"** added Kurama, causing the other bijuu to look at each other questionably.

**'This boy….'** thought the yonbi, looking at Naruto.

**"Please!"** snorted Shukaku. **"I just want out of this damn statue so I can kill!"** the other bijuu sighed at that.

"I don't know what the Rikudo Sennin intended for all of you," continued Naruto, "but I can give you all what you wanted if you give me something in turn."

**"And what is that?"** asked the sanbi.

Naruto smirked. "Your chakra."

* * *

><p>Within the highest level of the tower, harsh breathing could be heard within a single room, everything else silent. Rinnegan eyes shined in the darkness. Nagato took a deep breath and sighed. It wouldn't be long now, he rationalized. It wouldn't be long before he was killed. But it didn't matter to him anymore. Akatsuki was finished and with it his and Yahiko's dream. Now, all he had to do was wait before he too joined Konan and Yahiko.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Yes, another chapter, but this is going to be the last one for awhile now. Don't know when I'm going to have time again after this, so I just thought that I should get this out first. And there were complaints about how Bee and Yugito were captured pretty easily. But it was all part of the plot. Maybe not well done, but it had to happen. Also how Obito is stronger than Pain and that he should not have lost and I have to disagree. In my opinion, the only reason Tobi could order Pain was because he knew about Pain's handicap, mainly how he was strapped to a machine. But Obito didn't know where the real Pain, or Nagato, was located so he lost. Of course that's just my opinion. You don't have to agree with me.**

**Well again, tell me what you thought.**

**Later**


	27. Rebirth: New Akatsuki!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…..forgot to put this in the last few chapters but whatever. I'm still here, alive and not sued!  
>"Hmm…."- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 26:<br>Rebirth: New Akatsuki!**

Rain once more poured in the isolated hidden ninja village of Ame. Its citizens were currently running for cover at the sudden start of rain. Usually their leader, Pain, would make the rain stop for a few hours before he started it again. But this time the rain stopped for half an hour at best. What was going on? That was the question that plagued the minds of some. Others….they didn't give a fuck.

Currently in the highest tower in the village, clanging sounds could be heard as well as an occasional blur of something or rather someone moving. On a closer inspection, one would notice that there were actually more than one blur. Three to be exact. Suddenly the blurs came to a halt. One stood to one side, and the other two on the other. Once they stopped, one could see who the blurs actually were-one male, two female.

Jiraiya panted from his side of the large dark room, Mikoto and Kushina on the other, although they weren't as winded as Jiraiya appeared to be. He currently sported many cuts and bruises. His clothes were tore on many places. The two women themselves had some cuts, but not as much as Jiraiya. The **Gedo Mazo **stood in the innermost part of this dark room, with Naruto still in the center of it, eyes closed and not moving an inch.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes as he glanced at his godson. 'What is he doing?' he wondered to himself. But then shook his head and refocused his complete attention to the two females on the opposite side. 'They're good….'

"What's this?" said Kushina with a smirk. "It seems age is finally catching up to you, Jiraiya," she finished, the smirk still in place.

Jiraiya scowled at the comment. "It's part of life," he answered. "You too would be feeling the effects of it if it weren't for whatever it is you did to yourself to make you still be young."

That comment wiped the smirk on Kushina's face. "You better watch what you say," she began with a dark undertone, "or else I'll rip your whole damn mouth from your face." She then shrugged. "You know what, I think I'll do that in any case."

"It's clear you've been conducting some sort of experiments," replied Jiraiya with narrowed eyes. "You don't look any younger than the last time I saw you. I know that you want to take revenge on konoha, but for you to go as low as Orochimaru…."

He didn't get to finish as he jumped back, just in time to dodge a swipe from Kushina's sword, thanks to the redhead herself. He frowned as he noticed another cut on his cheek. 'And here I thought that I dodged it in time. Guess not….'

"Don't you ever dare compare me with that snake," said Kushina darkly.

"I'm just stating the obvious," said Jiraiya back to her.

Mikoto chuckled from her spot. "You couldn't be more far from the truth," she commented, humor clearly on her voice.

Jiraiya turned to her with a glare. "Oh? And I'm suppose to believe you?" he said with obvious sarcasm. "When you yourself look younger than what you truly are!"

Mikoto merely shrugged. "Call it a woman's secret," she said with a wink.

Jiraiya could only once again scowl at that.

"Enough of this," stated Kushina as she looked at Jiraiya with pure hatred on her eyes. "It's time for you to pay, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya got into his famous stance. "I can understand why you're doing this Kushina…."

"No you don't!" interrupted Kushina harshly. "Can you comprehend the feeling when you find out that the place you call home, the place that you once protected with all your life and were ready to give up your life for it is the same place that didn't lift a finger to help your entire family!?" she screamed in anger making Jiraiya flinch. "You know what bugs me the most," continued Kushina, "is all that crap konoha teaches about teamwork when they themselves don't follow it. You're all simply hypocrites," she finished with darkly making Jiraiya flinch once more, knowing she was right.

Kushina then rushed at Jiraiya, sword ready, intent on killing him. Jiraiya began to sweat in nervousness as Kushina continued her assault, him dodging her attacks, if barely. 'I can't keep this up,' he thought. His eyes widened as he sensed Mikoto coming from behind him. 'Shit!' he thought as he tried to dodge Mikoto but forgot about Kushina. Before he knew it he was pierced by both Kushina and Mikoto.

* * *

><p><strong>"Are you serious boy?"<strong> asked the yonbi incredulously as he looked at the young rinnegan wielder, the rest of the bijuu minus Kurama sharing the same opinion. Shukaku was more vocal though.

**"You're crazy if you think I'm going to hand you my power, you brat!"** he stated. **"Now that I'm not sealed into anymore of your pathetic kind, I can kill you all by myself! Just as soon as I figure out how to get out of here…."** he muttered the last part to himself, but the rest caught it.

All the bijuu besides Kurama had to agree with Shukaku, except about the killing part. They had no interest in killing anyone unless they had to.

**"I have to agree with Ichibi on this,"** said the hachibi, not using Shukaku's real name, not that said bijuu actually cared. **"There's no reason for us doing that."**

Naruto looked around all noticing that the rest shared the same opinion. "And do you have a reason not to?" he asked them.

**"Of course we do,"** answered the gobi. **"your kind has proven time and time again what you will do once you acquire power."**

**"Giving you our power will simply result in more problems,"** continued the yonbi**, "and will simply prove once more how corrupt your kind is."**

"I see…" said Naruto, pausing for a second. He then continued. "You say that, and yet you have helped us in your own free will as well."

**"What are you talking about?"** asked nibi.

Naruto turned to the bijuu. "Your jinchuriki, Yugito, you have helped her many times and given you her chakra at any moment's notice. You've even gone as far as to have a good relationship with her. The same could be said about you," he said, turning to the hachibi, before looking at the rest. "It's true when you say that humanity is a corrupted race. Trying to argue that point would simply be stupid." He paused, then continued. "And I'm not going to lie to you. What I'm trying to use your power for is not for bringing peace, or stopping a madman from doing something, or anything like that. With your power I myself will bring more hatred and destruction to the world."

**"Then that's more of a enough reason for us to not give you our chakra,"** said the yonbi.

Naruto sighed. "You're looking at this from the wrong angle," he replied. "Why is it that you care what about what happens to humans?"

**"We don't,"** answered the sanbi**, "It's you who have dragged us into your chain of hatred and pointless mindset of trying to become the most powerful beings that have ever existed. We are merely victims in this."**

Naruto nodded. "You're absolutely correct," he agreed, and then pointed at himself. "I am too a victim in humanity's struggle for power just like yourself."

Kurama closed his eyes at that.

"I'm a human sacrifice, I'm a jinchuriki!" declared Naruto, before smirking. "And I'm damn proud of that."

Kurama's eyes widened.

"I don't consider any of you to be a curse," said Naruto as he looked at all the bijuu individually, who themselves were paying attention, even Shukaku, "it's the other way around really. I consider you all to be a gift. But of course us humans can't accept something we can't understand." Naruto chuckled with no humor. "We all share the same pain here. The pain of being viewed as something that doesn't fit with the rest. And they're absolutely right. We are greater than all of them. We are something that is much more than anything they can ever be! We are the same-Me, all of you, and the rest of the jinchurikis themselves. There's no reason for us not to be united. To join and fight back for everything that the rest have done to us. All the pain, suffering, and the loneliness that we have all suffered. I really don't know what the Rikudo Sennin intended for this Shinobi World and I'm not going to pretend that I do either. I merely ask you all to help me fight back, for all of us."

**"Through destruction?"** asked the yonbi.

"Yes," answered Naruto honestly. "I'm human as well, and I'm not going to tell you otherwise that I have my own reasons for doing this, selfish as they may be. But unlike the rest, I'm willing to admit to that. I simply want you to consider what you truly want-be stuck in this thing and be used and used over again, or to join me and have the thing that you all deserve the most-recognition as individual beings."

The bijuu merely glanced at each other, not knowing what to say.

**'The brat has a way with words,'** thought Kurama as he looked at Naruto's back.

**"You….you are truly something, boy,"** finally said the yonbi. **"I guess kyuubi might be right about you, after all."**

Naruto merely nodded. "So I take it you decided then?"

The bijuu nodded. **"We will help,"** they stated at the same time.

Naruto could only smirk.

* * *

><p>Jiraiya could only stare in shock at Kushina's cold eyes. "I guess you were underestimating us, huh? Jiraiya?" said Kushina mockingly. "And it looks like it has cost you your life now."<p>

"Pity," said Mikoto behind him, sharingan activated. "And here I wanted to have a bit more fun. I guess you just weren't up to it. Oh well…."

Both women retracted their respected blades, making Jiraiya fall to the ground, puking out blood. 'I-is this it….?' he thought as his vision began to blur.

But his visions cleared as the ground began to shook. Kushina and Mikoto turned to Naruto, who opened his eyes and did handseals that were all too familiar to Kushina. 'What is he planning?' thought the redhead.

Naruto brought his hands down, rinnegan activated. **"Kuchiyose."**

From his spot on the cold hard floor, Jiraiya could shudder as a dark aura overtook the whole area. 'What is this?' he thought as something appeared.

'Is this….?' wondered Mikoto to herself.

**"Uzumaki, you summoned me again. I must say, I'm most surprised."**

"I have more people that I wish to be alive again," responded Naruto.

**"People?"** repeated the death god. **"So you want to revive multiple this time….and my payment?"**

Naruto shrugged. "Take as much as you want from this village."

The shinigami chuckled. **"I see….and who is it this time then?"**

"All the previous jinchuriki," he answered immediately.

'What does he think he's doing?' asked Jiraiya to himself as the shinigami went silent for a couple of seconds. He then spoke again.

**"It is done."**

Roshi, Han, Utakata, and Yagura shook their heads as they shinigami once cleared away and looked around in confusion. 'Where am I?' they all wondered.

**"Is that all?"**

Naruto nodded. "Yes."

The shinigami chuckled once more before disappearing. Naruto turned to the statue and made a handsign.

"What is this?" asked Kushina as she came to a stop next to him.

"You'll see," was the response she received. Naruto turned to the recently revved jinchuriki. "You must be all confused, but everything will be answered within time. But now, I have a gift for you all."

Despite his confusion, Yagura stepped forward. "And what is that?"

Naruto smirked. "You'll see. Just stand still." Naruto turned to the **Gedo Mazo** and closed his eyes. The statue opened its mouth, and red beams of chakra shot out of its mouth and headed towards the jinchuriki.

'What is this?' thought Yagura as he held his right hand up.

"Oi, what are you doing to us?" asked Utakata with a glare, but Naruto didn't respond. Utakata was about to charge at the blond and demand, but Han held his right arm in front of the rouged ninja to stop him. "What are you doing?" asked Utakata.

"I suggest you calm down and be patient," answered the iwa shinobi softly.

Roshi merely glanced at him.

Utakata grunted but didn't say or do anything else.

A few minutes later and the red beams stopped and Naruto opened his eyes. 'That was tiresome….'

**"It was your first time doing something like that,"** commented Kurama.

"Now will you tell us what you did?" asked Yagura, before his eyes widened.

**"Long time no see, Yagura."**

'I-isobu?'

The sanbi, or now name Isobu, nodded within Yagura's mind. **"Indeed."**

'But how!?'

**"I suggest you ask the young boy over there."**

Yagura turned to Naruto with a shock look on his face who in turn smirked again.

"I see…." muttered Han.

**"Han."**

'Gobi.'

'Heh, so it's you, huh?' said Utakata.

**"I suppose we're back to where we once were,"** replied the rokubi.

'Never thought I would talk to you again, yonbi,' thought Roshi.

**"Feeling is mutual,"** said the yonbi**, "but I guess fate had different plans."**

Mikoto walked up to Bee and removed the suppression seal. A second later, Bee was up, looking around frantically. "Where are they, those fools them fools!?"

"Dead," answered Mikoto who then walked up to Yugito whose wounds were already healed. She smirked and then kicked her in the ribs. Yugito stood up with a pained look on her face. She looked around and saw Mikoto's smirking face, making her scowl. "Why the hell did you do that?" she asked.

Mikoto shrugged. "Because I felt like it."

"What did you do?" whispered Kushina into Naruto's right ear.

"I returned all the bijuu to their respective host," he answered.

Yagura heard him, and became even more shock. "Hold on," he said, catching everyone's attention. "Just what exactly is going on here?"

"I want you all to join me," answered Naruto as he looked at all the jinchuriki.

"Join you in what?" asked Utakata with a raised eyebrow.

"In _our _revenge," replied Naruto.

"What's that suppose to mean?" asked Roshi.

Jiraiya's conscious once again began to darken before he pushed it back. 'No,' he thought determined, 'I know I'm probably going to die here, but I'll at least know something before I do.'

Naruto caught sight of Jiraiya and smirked before turning to the rest. "I think everyone of you should know what I'm talking about. After all, we're all jinchuriki here. Well all but two of us."

"And?" said Utakata.

Naruto sighed. "Don't try to play it off. You all should know what it means when you carry the title of jinchuriki with you."

"We do," agreed Yagura, "but what does that have to do with this?"

"It's got everything to do with this," replied Naruto. "We're all the outcasts from all the hidden villages. All the sacrifices for the 'greater good,'" said Naruto sarcastically. "We were all merely tools that were meant to be disposed of when the time our usefulness came to an end. But now…." Naruto's hands clenched, "now all of that has changed. We now have the chance to prove what we are truly capable of. To show everyone else what a mistake they have made."

"You're getting the wrong idea," interrupted Bee with a serious tone. "You should be proud that you're a jinchuriki in the first place. That you…."

"I am proud to be one," interrupted Naruto. "But that doesn't change the facts that we were all treated unfairly. Treated as trash for something that none of us had a choice in. I would think that's a bit unfair, wouldn't you?'

The others could only nod, even Bee and Yugito. "But what exactly are you driving at with this?" asked Roshi.

Naruto sighed. "Don't you get it! We all deserve something better! And if we can't have it by choice, we'll simply take it."

"Freedom…." muttered Yagura, remembering his childhood. Always being kept in specified location, never being allowed to be with other children his age, always training.

Bee himself couldn't help but to think of the past as well as his trapped existence.

The others also began to think of their own experiences.

'I take it I got lucky as being a jinchuriki,' thought Yugito somberly. 'And it's all thanks to Bee. Although I do wonder how it was before,' she wondered to herself and glanced at Bee, who had a downcast look on his face.

**"You do kitten. But you should be thankful that you didn't experience any of that."**

'You're right….'

"What exactly are you proposing?" asked Han softly making Roshi surprised. Never had he known Han ask anyone questions except to the tsuchikage.

'That old fool,' thought Roshi in anger remembering the old shinobi. 'All he really cares for is the bijuu. Not us.'

**"All the more reason to agree."**

"I'm proposing a better future for all of us," answered Naruto to Han's question. "And to take out anyone who tries to stop us."

"Isn't konoha your target in the first place?" asked Yugito.

Naruto nodded. "Yes. That is the first place that will go. Konoha is definitely the place that will try to stop us. To try to make us their weapons so for their own benefit. But not unless we strike first…."

Han stepped up. "I'm in," he said simply, making Roshi even more surprised. Roshi then sighed. 'It's not like I have anything to return to,' he thought before he stood next to Han. "I'm in too."

Utakata closed his eyes and then opened them. He walked forward and stood next to Han and Roshi. "I'm also in. But not because I care about konoha, or anyplace else. I simply want freedom."

Yagura sighed as he walked forward as well and looked at Naruto. "I may have been a kage in the past, but I'm not stupid enough to realize that was simply a means to control me. All I wanted in my life is to be free and nothing else. So I too will join, but just to simply be free. Nothing more."

Naruto nodded before turning to the last two.

Yugito glanced at Bee who had a troubled look on his face. 'What should I do?' she asked herself.

**"The answer is obvious kitten. You've never been seen as yourself, just simply as 'the other jinchuriki.' I know you've always resented that. I also know that you wonder how things would have been if Bee hadn't been there."**

'You want to join him?' thought Yugito incredulously.

**"Yes. He is the person we bijuu have waited for."**

'What's that suppose to mean?'

**"Oh? Why don't you find out yourself?"**

Yugito sighed but couldn't help herself as she too stepped forward. "I suppose I'm in too," she said quietly.

**"Bee…."**

'Do you want to go?'

**"…..Yes."**

'I see….'

Then Bee stepped forward as well.

**"What are you…..?"**

Bee internally smirked. 'We're a team, you and me. I can tell that you that you really want this, and who am I to deny you that? Besides, this keeps me out of the village some more.'

**"There's a chance that kumo would try to stop this….."**

'No. Big bro ain't like that. I know it.'

Naruto nodded. "Good. So from now on we will be…." he glanced at the dead body of Tobi, or more specifically the cloak. 'Red Dawn, huh? Perfect….' "We will be the new Akatsuki!"

The others merely nodded.

"Good. Now rest here for awhile before we move." The rest made their ways toward the statue, the only place one could find some kind of place to rest in the otherwise barren room.

"That was unexpected," said Kushina quietly.

Mikoto nodded in agreement. "Yes," she agreed, "where exactly are you going with this?"

Naruto shrugged. "This is all for taking down Konoha. We now have more than enough allies. We are ready." 'Not to mention the fact that I now have the chakra of all the bijuu. It's perfect...' He then turned to the near dead Jiraiya who was now lying in a pool of blood. Naruto walked up to him, Kushina and Mikoto right behind him. Naruto knelt down in front of him.

"I guess this is it, Jiraiya," muttered Naruto, but Jiraiya heard him.

"Naruto," said Jiraiya, barely. "Don't do it."

Naruto chuckled and shook his head. "Sorry. But it's too late. There is no going back now." Naruto brought out one of his kunai, and then stabbed Jiraiya in the heart.

"Goodbye….old sensei."

* * *

><p>In the land of the toads, Mount Myoboku, a great commotion had just started a few minutes ago. Toads were currently scrambling about, doing one thing or the other. They did share one thing in common, however. And that was the shocked and pained look on their faces.<p>

This was the scene that Shima, one of the elder sage toads, came to as she arrived after having gone to find the things that she needed to prepare for tonight's dinner. And things was the right word. Not one recognizable object could be seen sticking out of the basket. But enough of that.

**"What is all this commotion about!"** she screamed.

One of the younger toads stopped to explain. **"There's been a great incident, Shima-sama."**

Shima raised an eyebrow. **"And that is?"**

**"Jiraiya-chan has died!"**

The basket on Shima's grasp fell. **"What did you say?"** she asked quietly.

The young toad could only nod. "**It's true. Fukasaku-sama is currently..."**

He didn't get to finish however, as Shima merely pushed him out of the way and headed to where she knew her husband would be at. As she reached the entrance to where the Great Toad Sage resided in. **"You old** **coot!"** she screamed.

Fukasaku turned to see his approaching wife. "**So you're here..."** he muttered.

**"Is it true?"** asked Shima.

Fukasaku could only nod.

Shima looked down as tears began to fall.

Fukasaku sighed when he saw that. **"Now is not the time for that. We need to inform konoha of this."**

**"Then what are you doing at this old geezer's place then?"** asked Shima as she wiped the tears that did fell.

**"We need to figure out exactly what happened,"** answered Fukasaku, remembering what Gamaken had told him. Shima nodded and the two walked inside.

* * *

><p>Nagato opened his eyes as Naruto walked into the room. "So you're here."<p>

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "So you were expecting me, huh?"

Nagato nodded. "Yes."

"Why didn't you try to run away?" asked Naruto.

Nagato shook his head. "Because that would be pointless. I have already been defeated. There is no point in trying to live any longer."

Naruto became quiet before looking at Nagato straight in the eyes. "Peace is not possible in this world. Even you yourself are a problem that stands in creating true peace."

"And you?' replied Nagato. "Aren't you a part of the problem as well?"

Naruto chuckled. "Yes, I suppose I now am a part of the problem as well, huh? But the only difference is that I don't try to justify it by trying to create a mere false peace."

Nagato shook his head. "I wasn't trying to justify anything. I was merely trying to bring peace to the world in the only that it seems possible-by a lie."

"You may be right," said Naruto as he activated his rinnegan, "but you may also be wrong. To me though, peace is the last thing that I care about. True peace will only be made possible when there is no more hatred, and darkness. Something very unlikely…."

Nagato chuckled, except it was dead. "That is the truth is suppose. Uzumaki Naruto, I ask you for a favor. It probably sounds strange considering that we are enemies, but I don't think you'll mind. I ask you...can you please kill me."

Naruto didn't respond. He merely launched a fireball to Nagato who didn't try to dodge. Naruto stared emotionlessly as the fires consumed Nagato, except that Nagato didn't scream. Instead he had a smile on his face.

'That was…..'

**"What?"**

'I don't know….'

"Naruto-kun."

Naruto turned to see Kushina walking in, an akatsuki cloak on and held one out. "This is yours," she said.

* * *

><p>Tsunade merely stood by one of the windows on her office, watching as the rain continued to fall strongly.<p>

"Tsunade-sama..." muttered Shizune as she looked at her teacher. She knew something was wrong with Tsunade. Having traveled with the woman for about twenty years, she learned all the quirks that there were to Tsunade. Right now...she was troubled.

'I shouldn't have send that idiot by himself,' thought Tsunade. She had to keep focused on Fu at the moment. She knew that, but the feeling of uneasiness just wouldn't go away. But there was just no way that something had happened to Jiraiya. Right?

Tsunade's eyes began to water slightly. There was just no way she could handle losing anyone else. And if it were Jiraiya of all people...

'Come back safe...Jiraiya...'

* * *

><p>Naruto stared at the village of ame below as it burst into commotion. About half of the villagers suddenly turned into ash out of no where. The remaining could only scream in fear, wondering if they would be next.<p>

Naruto stood on top of the highest tower, Kushina on his left, and Mikoto on his right. The rest of the jinchuriki were behind them. They now all wore the akatsuki cloaks.

"Now," said Naruto, rinnegan activated, "it's time for the next move."

The rain continued to fall.

* * *

><p>Kabuto could only chuckle as he gazed the remains of none other than Uchiha Madara himself.<p>

'Yes,' he thought with a smirk, 'with this, there is no way that I'm going to lose.'

**"You're dead meat!"**

Kabuto smirked and jumped out of the was as black zetsu appeared on the spot he just previously occupied.

"You've made a terrible mistake," stated white zetsu as he appeared on one of the walls.

Kabuto's smirk was still in place. "Oh no, you two made a terrible mistake in not guarding this better. But I guess it's my gain in your loss..."

Black zetsu scowled. **"You have no idea what you're dealing with here,** **_boy_."**  
><strong>**  
>Kabuto frowned at being called a boy. "Oh, but I think I do. But this is nothing for you to concern yourself with it." He smirked as he dispersed into snakes.<p>

Black zetsu scowled again as he looked at Madara's disturbed grave site. **'This is not going to end well...'**

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**What's up to all of you! So this is the next chapter….what can I say? It's….I don't know. I'll leave it up to you wether it was good or bad, or whatever you think that it is. It came out faster than I expected though, but then again, that's a good thing.**

**Hope you enjoyed it. And yeah, that's it for me.**

**Till next time!**


	28. Loose End pt I

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 27: Loose End pt. 1<strong>

There were few things that could really scare Obito in this world any longer, if any at all. After all, after dying and coming back to life there really was nothing else that could possibly come closer than that. But at the moment, he was starring face to face to something that really did scare him. What was that you may be asking yourself? The answer to that would be Mikoto's pissed off face.

"Tell me again," she began slowly and dangerously with narrowed eyes, "exactly what you have been up to these past few hours?"

Currently we find the newly formed akatsuki as well as Obito, Sasuke, and the others in one of the many uchiha hideouts just outside of Ame. Who would have known that the uchiha clan had hideouts all over the entire elemental nations?

"Well," began Obito rubbing the back of his head, "I sorta got distracted after having rendezvous with Sasuke and those two."

Karin scoffed. "Distracted my ass…" she muttered. She was sitting on a big round table just like the one on the previous hideout that they had spent a few days in. She wore an akatsuki cloak over her usual attire. The others themselves were sitting all around the table, except for Mikoto and Obito of course.

Mikoto tapped her right foot impatiently. "And what exactly was that?"

"A drinking contest…."

Obito then found himself on the ground with a fist mark on his left cheek. Mikoto shook her fist in anger after having punched Obito. 'This guy….'

Sasuke could only shake his head from his sitting position in the room. He now too wore an akatsuki cloak. 'And this is my family….' he thought with a twitching eyebrow.

The jinchuriki themselves could only stare in bewilderment at the scene in front of them, not sure if it was a genjutsu or not.

"As amusing as this is," began Naruto with a twitching eyebrow as well, "we have better things to do at the moment." Kushina merely chuckled silently from her spot next to Naruto.

Mikoto turned from Obito who was getting up with a shake of her head, making her way to sit on the other side of Naruto. This earned a raised eyebrow in surprise from Sasuke, but didn't say anything.

"So what exactly happened?" he asked after a few moments of silence glancing at the newly revived members.

"Tobi is dead," answered Naruto simply. "And the rest of the akatsuki has fallen," he further added.

**"Don't forget about us,"** said black zetsu as he appeared and rose from the ground. The others took notice that white zetsu was glued, if that is the right verb to use, to him once more.

"What is he doing here?" asked Mikoto, referring to white zetsu.

**"I've filled him in."**

"And?" said Kushina.

"I'm in," answered white zetsu with a grin.

"And here I thought you were Tobi's faithful follower," commented Naruto.

White zetsu chuckled. "No, I'm Madara's. Although, I'm quite hurt you three hadn't included me in your plans," he further added, referring to Mikoto, Obito, and his other counterpart.

Obito shrugged. "Tobi created you. So we assumed that you would follow him no matter what. And then we would have to dispose of you which would create too many problems that would have jeopardize everything."

White zetsu snorted. "Well you thought wrong. I had already acquired the information that Madara created the first white zetsu, and that he didn't have any faith at all in Tobi."

"How?" asked Mikoto surprised.

"I don't know," answered white zetsu, "but I already knew of it from the moment I was created."

'I take it it was another modification done by Madara,' thought Naruto.

**"Not surprising I suppose."**

"Why were you with him this whole time then?" asked Kushina.

"Because there was nothing else for me to do," answered white zetsu, "or so I thought," he further added.

"This is fun and all," interrupted Utakata with sarcasm, "but what exactly are we suppose to do now?"

Mikoto glared at him and was about to bitch him out when Naruto spoke first. "Crush Konoha."

"And how are you exactly going to do that?" asked Yagura. "I know from experience that that village is not an easy place to destroy, if it is possible at all."

Naruto smirked. "Everyplace has its weakness Yagura. You, being a kage, should know that already."

"And what is konoha's weakness?" asked Roshi.

"Simple. It's their arrogance," stated Naruto. "They think that since they're the 'strongest' village that no one will ever attempt anything that we are trying to do. And we will take the most advantage out of that as we possibly can."

"But _how_?" asked Yagura.

"You leave that to me," answered Naruto.

**"We may have a problem that will complicate things,"** said black zetsu.

"And what is that?" asked Kushina.

"Kabuto," answered white zetsu.

Obito scowled at that. "Asshole got away from me last time. But how exactly is he a big threat at the moment?"

**"He has Madara's DNA,"** stated black zetsu.

"What!" exclaimed Mikoto as she stood up. "What do you mean!? How!?"

"He snuck into the chamber where Madara was buried in the original hideout," said white zetsu with a scowl. "How he knew where it was, I have no idea."

'Orochimaru,' thought Mikoto in anger. 'Even in death, that bastard always has a way to complicate things.' Obito was thinking the same thing at the moment.

"And why is that such a problem?" asked Yugito confused.

"Because he knows how to perform the **Edo Tensei**," answered Obito.

"Seriously?" said Kushina in surprise.

"That's the jutsu that can bring people back from the dead, isn't it?" stated Sasuke.

Mikoto nodded as she sat back down. "Yes it is. Although it doesn't entirely bring them back from the dead. More like a between state between life and death."

'The one that the nidaime hokage created,' thought Naruto.

"This is a problem," muttered Obito.

"Yes it is," agreed Naruto, "but we can't let this stop us. We just have to take him out before he can become an even bigger nuisance."

"Easier said than done," responded Mikoto, "that guy is like the reincarnation of Orochimaru. Slippery and ugly as hell."

Kushina chuckled. "That is a horrible combination."

"Where is he now?" asked Obito to zetsu.

"If we knew, we wouldn't be here," responded white zetsu.

"True enough," said Obito.

Naruto shook his head. "Like I said, we shouldn't let this stop us. Kabuto will be dealt with accordingly. In the meantime…." he turned to the other jinchuriki, "we have villages to gather."

"Oh?" said Mikoto in surprise. "So I suppose it's time to bring them in."

Naruto nodded. "Yes. The only ones not in this are Suna and Kiri," said Mikoto.

"And I don't remember doing anything with Iwa," said Naruto with narrowed eyes.

Mikoto chuckled sheepishly. "Oh, right. I forgot to mention that the tsuchikage agreed to help us."

"You managed to convince that old goat?" asked Kushina incredulously.

Mikoto shrugged. "It wasn't hard. I simply agreed that the remaining uchiha would settle in his village and bam, he agreed."

"Of course…." muttered Roshi with a frown on his face. Han stayed silent.

"The fact that destroying Konoha is our objective was just a bonus," added with Mikoto with a wave of her hand.

"Why not Kiri?" asked Yagura all of a sudden.

Naruto merely shrugged. "There hasn't been any reason to include them. But we better move fast before things really start to become hectic."

Obito snorted at that. "Please. Things already have become hectic with what you did in Ame. Half of the population is dead, not to mention the fact that it's leadership is also out. The other nations must know of this by now. It wouldn't surprise me if anyone one of them were planning an attack at the moment."

"Which would lead to another war….." muttered Kushina.

"Which is why we need to act fast," said Naruto as he stood up. "You two," he began, pointing towards Roshi and Han, "you two will go with Sasuke and his group and head to Iwa and tell the tsuchikage to prepare his shinobi as well as to not attack Ame. They are of no importance."

'That place again,' thought Sasuke with a frown as well as the fact that he was ordered by Naruto but decided to let it go. 'Be patient,' he further added, remembering what Mikoto had said to him.

At Roshi and Han's nod, Naruto turned towards Yagura and Utakata. "I suppose it would only be beneficial if Kiri would join in this as well," began Naruto with a smirk, "so you two will head to Kiri and see if you can convince the mizukage."

Yagura nodded and Utakata sighed but nodded as well. He wasn't very fond of going back there, but if it helped him finally be free forever at last, then he would do it.

Naruto then turned to Yugito and Bee. "I take it you already know where you two will go?" he asked, although it was more of a statement really.

Both Yugito and Bee merely nodded.

"I will go with them as well," spoke up Mikoto.

"And why is that?" asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

Mikoto shrugged. "I quite like their company," she responded, referring to both Yugito and Bee.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, not believing her for a second. Hell, no one present did. Mikoto saw his suspicious look and merely sighed before sending him look as if to say, 'I'll tell you later.'

Naruto then turned to Obito. "You have a special job to do."

Obito raised an eyebrow, not sure if that was a good thing or not. "And what is that?" he asked.

"Simple. You're going to track down our pal Kabuto. I'm sure you would want to kill him the most out of all of us here," answered Naruto, referring to how Kabuto had managed to escape from being killed by Obito.

Obito merely nodded.

"You two will help," Naruto further added, referring to both zetsus.

"Heh, of course," said white zetsu with a grin. Black zetsu didn't comment.

"I guess that takes care of everyone," said Naruto as he made his way towards the door out of the room, Kushina following him.

"And what will you do?" asked Sasuke.

"Something important," answered Naruto without turning around and walked out, Kushina right behind him.

"Well then," said Obito as began to disappear in a vortex, "till we meet again." He complete disappeared, zetsu right after him although without saying anything else.

"Wait here," ordered Mikoto to Yugito and Bee as she made her way towards the door. Yugito scowled at Mikoto's back. Bee didn't respond.

"We should get going," said Yagura to Utakata who merely nodded. The two left the room as well.

Sasuke stood up and turned to look at Roshi and Han. "We should start moving as well."

Roshi nodded. "Right." Han didn't seem like he heard Sasuke, but made his way towards the door nonetheless.

Suigetsu grumbled. "Again with the moving," he muttered.

Karin scoffed and readjusted her glasses as they made their way towards the door. "Stop complaining, will you?"

"Bitch…." he muttered.

* * *

><p>"What else are you hiding from us?"<p>

Mikoto sighed. "Nothing else but the fact that the raikage is under my genjutsu."

"And when were you planning on telling us?" asked Kushina with a glare.

"Look, there hasn't really been an appropriate time to tell you till now, okay?' responded Mikoto.

'It wasn't a mistake to not completely trust her,' thought Naruto.

**"Hmph. I told you, didn't I? Hell, I'm pretty sure even Mito did."**

Kushina shook her head. "It's really hard to believe that now."

"But now there really isn't anything else, I swear," responded Mikoto.

"We will see about that," interrupted Naruto, "but for now, we have things that need to be done."

Mikoto sighed but nodded. "Alright then. I'll contact you when it's done."

After she had left, Kushina turned towards her son. "What exactly are we doing anyways?"

Naruto merely looked up to look at the clouds moving peacefully in the sky. "We're going back to Konoha," he finally answered.

Kushina became confused. "What for?" she asked.

This time Naruto didn't reply. 'I'm sure Neji has done his part by now….' he thought.

* * *

><p>Neji carefully made his way to the rendezvous point in the poorest part of the village. He made sure to keep his senses up to see if he was followed, but as of the moment no one was.<p>

Neji could only smirk to himself. 'To think that Naruto actually managed to get a root anbu under his command. I must say, I am impressed.'

After having walked for about ten minutes, Neji stopped in front of a bar. The establishment was in the same condition that every other building in this area was-torn apart, and seemed as if it could collapse at any moment. Even though the Hyuuga clan was one of more class than this whole area, Neji himself didn't mind. He wasn't one of those stuck up members that thought that anyone or anything not related to the hyuuga clan was trash. Well not anymore at least.

Neji stopped his musing and subtly checked one more time to see if he was being followed. After being satisfied that he wasn't, he walked into the bar.

As he made his way to one of the back tables, Neji ignored all the glances that were sent his way from the others that were present in the bar. They of course recognized the fact that Neji was a hyuuga which surprised them all. After all, what would a member from such a prestigious clan such as the hyuuga be doing here?

Neji sighed as he sat down on the farthest table on the back, coming face to face with a white anbu mask.

"I take it you have it?" asked Neji.

"Yes," came the emotionless reply. The root member then took out a scroll and handed it to Neji who pocketed it his kunai pouch.

Neji nodded. "Good."

"I really can't stay much longer," said the root anbu member using the same emotionless tone. "Danzo would become suspicious."

Neji smirked. "Oh, I don't know about that."

The anbu didn't reply, but Neji could feel the curiosity radiating off the anbu. "Danzo is currently too busy at the moment."

"With what?"

Neji chuckled. "It's nothing for you to concern yourself with. Now get going. Like you said, it wouldn't be good if anyone got suspicious."

The anbu didn't reply. He merely stood up and walked out of the bar.

Neji could only chuckle once again. 'Oh yes, I'm pretty sure Danzo must be feeling pretty happy at the moment. If only he knew that it will only lead to his downfall.'

* * *

><p>Within the council chamber in the hokage building, Danzo was indeed really content with how things were going at the moment. He might have had lost the kyuubi, something that he was going to rectify soon, but he would definitely take the most advantage out of the situation as possible. And what would that be? Can anyone guess? Well, I'll simply tell you anyway.<p>

"I believe that it is imperative that Danzo trains the remaining jinchuriki," said Hiashi.

Fu currently stood at the center of the room, an emotionless look on her face.

"I also agree," stated Tsume with a dark look. Her son had just been recently kill, so it wasn't really surprising to anyone. And who did it? Uzumaki Naruto himself. And if that could have been avoided if Danzo had simply trained the boy, then Tsume would make sure the other jinchuriki present would be so that the same mistake could not be repeated twice.

Tsunade had to keep back the scowl from appearing on her face at Danzo's pleased look. But what could she do? Nothing. After Naruto's obvious betrayal, the entire council didn't want the same thing to happen with Fu. And their solution to that? Have Danzo to train her, of course.

"So everyone is in agreement of this?" asked Homura. The entire shinobi council nodded. The civilians weren't present at the meeting. Of course, they had tried to be but after Tsunade had threatened every single member to crush them in half if they so much set foot in the council room, they ran with their tails between their legs. They may be arrogant, but they sure as hell weren't stupid.

'No choice then,' thought Tsunade as she looked at Fu who didn't appeared alarmed at all. Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the girl. 'She resisted Ibiki pretty well, I must say.'

She of course was referring to the interrogation that had taken place about an hour earlier per the council's request. They wanted to make sure that the girl was not affiliated with Naruto in any way. There were too many unknowns for a yamanaka to go inside the girl's mind with her being a jinchuriki. So they did the next best thing. And Fu came clean. So now she was to be train to be used by Konoha in replacement of Naruto until he was captured.

"She will be handed to Danzo immediately then," declared Koharu.

"I hope you don't have any objections at all, hokage-sama?" said Danzo with a smug undertone attached. Hey, he had every right to be at the moment.

"Of course not," said Tsunade through gritted teeth.

"Wonderful then," replied Danzo.

"You are dismissed. Wait outside for now," said Homura to Fu. For her part, Fu merely walked out.

Once she had left, the council turned to another issue. "It seems the kazekage was in konoha yesterday," stated Koharu.

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, he had an urgent message to give to me."

"And that was?" asked Hiashi.

"He's calling for a meeting with all the kages," answered Tsunade, already knowing what kind of reaction the council would have.

"Preposterous," said Homura, "does he really expect all the kages to agree to that?"

"Why is he calling for this meeting anyways?" asked Shikaku.

"Akatsuki," stated Tsunade. "And I have to say that he is right about not underestimating that organization. They have already captured many of the bijuus. Who knows how many are left?"

"Jiraiya is currently verifying the information he received, is he not?" asked Shibi.

Tsunade nodded, although her face became slightly more gloomy at the reminder. "Yes, but he has not returned for the moment."

"Then we don't need to attend that meeting," said Hiashi, "if we know where their base is, we can simply take care of them ourselves."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes you may be right about that, but if the other kages agree and I don't attend, how is that going to reflect on konoha?"

The council had to agree on that one. "But for the moment we just have to wait and see," added Tsunade.

"I take it this meeting is done with then?" said Danzo.

"I suppose it is," said Shikaku as he yawned.

"Meeting adjourned then," declared Tsunade.

* * *

><p>"How do you feel, Gaara?"<p>

Gaara turned to look at his sister's worried face. The three sand siblings were taking a short stop to rest as they made their way back towards Suna. "Worried and troubled," he answered.

Temari sighed and frowned. "About Naruto, I take it?"

Gaara nodded. "Yes. It seems that things have changed for him."

"Maybe the shrimp is just trying to act like the uchiha," commented Kankuro.

"To the extent to kill a clan head and be marked as a rouge shinobi?" said Temari incredulously. "Not even Naruto is _that _stupid. Besides, he wants to be hokage. I think he can hardly do that with being marked as a rogue ninja."

Kankuro shrugged. "Hey, the kid isn't smart after all."

Gaara silently sighed as Temari and Kankuro began to bicker. 'No,' he thought to himself, 'something else must have had happened for him to be doing this. But the question is what? And what is he planning on doing now?'

* * *

><p>Fu had to keep the frown from her face as she followed behind Danzo. Two anbu under Danzo's command were right behind her, quiet as they always were. 'So this must be their base,' thought Fu as she subtly looked around the underground base. 'And underground too, huh? Not surprising, but he must have more than just one. But I'm sure Neji will have more info on this than me,' she thought.<p>

The group silently made their way deeper into the base. Everything was silent except for the soft sound of Danzo's cane and their footsteps, which was creeping Fu out beyond belief. 'Just what is it with this guy?' thought Fu, referring to Danzo.

A few minutes later and they stopped in front of a door. One of the anbu opened it and it led to what appeared to be a room, a simply one at that. There was a fairly sized bed, a desk, and another door but was opened and which led to what appeared to be a small bathroom, and that was it.

'Well I'm use to worst,' thought Fu, remembering the conditions she had lived in Taki.

"This will be your sleeping quarters," said Danzo to her for the first time. "You will remain here until you are called for training and will not be allowed to leave this room at all other than when you are told to. Food will be brought to you as well."

Fu simply nodded.

"Good," said Danzo as he began to walk away. "Get some rest then. We will soon start with your training."

The two anbu motioned for Fu to get inside the room making the girl internally roll her eyes. She released a sigh as the door closed. She made her way to the bed and collapsed on it.

**"This is what you wanted isn't it?"**

'Shut up, you stupid bug.'

Chomei snarled. **"Bug? Why I should…."**

'Too tired,' interrupted Fu with a yawn. 'You can scold me later.'

**"Oh no you don't! You listen to me….No, don't you dare go to sleep!"**

'Goodnight, nanabi-chan.'

**"'Chan?' I'm not a female you idiot!"**

But Fu wasn't listening to him anymore. She merely let sleep take her.

* * *

><p>Tsunade sighed as more paperwork appeared on her desk. 'The vain of any kage,' she thought with a frown.<p>

"Tsunade-sama," said Shizune as she walked into the room carrying another large stack of papers and placed it on Tsunade's desk.

"There's more?" said Tsunade incredulously, making Shizune giggle. "And this is just the beginning," responded Shizune.

'Fucking hokage duties,' thought Tsunade bitterly.

Before anything else could happen, a puff of smoke in the middle of the office caught the attention of both women.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as a small toad appeared on top of a fairly sized toad. "Is that you, Fukasaku?" asked Tsunade.

**"Tsunade-chan,"** said Fukasaku with a smile**, "it sure has been awhile, hasn't it?"**

"Yes," agreed Tsunade with a nod, "but what are you doing here?"

Fukasaku sighed sadly at remembering why he was here in the first place. **"I am sad to inform you that I bring you bad news, Tsunade-chan."**

Tsunade's heart pulse quickened. "And what is that?" she asked cautiously.

**"Jiraiya-chan is dead,"** he simply stated.

Both Tsunade and Shizune's eyes widened in shock at that. "W-what?" said Tsunade.

The old toad nodded sadly. **"I'm afraid you have heard me right."**

'Tsunade-sama,' thought Shizune as she turned to look at her master worriedly.

Tsunade herself was shaking, not believing what she had just heard. Jiraiya was dead? Impossible! That was just simply impossible!….Right?

"Who did it?" asked Tsunade quietly after coming out of her initial shock of having now lost another precious person in her life, probably the last one that she had left.

Fukasaku was regretting saying this part to Tsunade the most. After all, the person who had killed Jiraiya was…..

**"It was Uzumaki Naruto."**

Silence.

Shizune almost fainted out of shock at that answer. She was expecting anyone else to have done it. But Naruto? This had to be the most cruel and horrible joke in existence.

Tsunade wasn't in any better state than Shizune, hell she was worst.

"What did you say?" asked Tsunade in a deadly voice. "If this is a joke, it's not a good one," she further added.

Fukasaku shook his head. **"I wish I was joking. But unfortunately, I am not. It is the truth."**

"But why!?" said Shizune. "Why would Naruto-kun do something like that!?"

**"I'm sure you know more about the why then I do,"** replied the old toad.

'Is he really going to try to destroy the village?' thought Tsunade. But then another thought came to her mind. "What was Naruto doing in Ame? Wait, it was in Ame where Jiraiya died right?"

Fukasaku nodded. **"Yes, but I don't know why Naruto was there. Gamaken, who Jiraiya-chan summoned, told us that Naruto was fighting with akatsuki when Jiraiya-chan arrived."**

'So he really was behind the fights against akatsuki,' thought Tsunade while her hands turned into fists.

"What happened afterwards?" asked Shizune.

Fukasaku shook his head again. **"I'm afraid we do not know the details, except that Jiraiya-chan died. The how is still a mystery."**

"We need to get to Ame this instant and find out what exactly has happened there," said Tsunade.

**"I agree,"** said Fukasaku**, "but there is something else that you need to know."**

"And what is that?" asked Tsunade, already knowing that she was going to dread the answer.

Fukasaku was silent for a few moments, before looking Tsunade, eyes to eyes. **"I don't know if Jiraiya-chan ever told you this, but the Great Sage Toad once told Jiraiya-chan of his future and a prophecy as well."**

Tsunade nodded, already knowing what it was about. "I do, but what does this have to…." She paused, and her eyes widened again, this time in alarm. "You can't possibly mean….?" She left the question hanging.

**"I believe so,"** answered Fukasaku. **"It's possible that this boy might be the Child of the prophecy."**

"'Child of the prophecy?'" repeated Shizune, confused beyond belief.

"But he was meant to save the world then!" exclaimed Tsunade ignoring Shizune's confused look for the moment.

Fukasaku sighed. **"Not necessarily. The Great Sage Toad said that the child would cause a great catastrophe or bring peace to the world. It all depended on Jiraiya-chan's choice."**

"And what choice is that?" asked Tsunade.

**"I don't know,"** answered Fukasaku honestly**, "but if this boy is the one…."**

Tsunade nodded. "I understand. Thank you for sharing this with us."

Fukasaku nodded. **"We will keep in touch then. We will tell you if we find anything else and ask if you do the same."** At Tsunade's nod, he continued. **"Alright then."** He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Shizune," said Tsunade making said woman jump in surprise.

"Yes?" asked Shizune.

"Bring me Cat," answered Tsunade. "Now!" Shizune could only nod as she made her ways towards the door and out of the office. Tsunade laid her head back on her chair once Shizune had left. Tears began to fall, the sadness and the implications of what she had just learned finally hitting with maximum force.

'Jiraiya….'

* * *

><p>Currently within the konoha hospital, one Haruno Sakura could not concentrate on her tasks at all. It had gotten so bad, that she had been forced to take a break. She was currently on top on the hospital roof, enjoying the soft breeze.<p>

To think that she had finally thought that she was making progress in recreating in what was her opinion the best time of her life. Mainly the old Team Seven. But now all that was blown to hell. But she shouldn't be surprised. Since the first moment she had met Naruto again after his disappearance which he claimed was his training trip, she could tell that something had definitely changed in what used to be that cheerful blond that she had known her whole life. But she just never expected it to be this big of a change!

Just what exactly had happened to the old Naruto? That was the question that had been plaguing her mind ever since she had returned, and she could not find an answer for it no matter what. And then there was Fu. Sakura had no idea what to think about of the girl. The fact that she and Naruto had apparently dated put a big frown on the pink haired girl's face. Of course she hadn't told anyone of it, not really seeing any meaning into it.

Last Sakura heard Fu was getting 'special' training, whatever that meant. But it did mean that Team Seven was disbanded once more. That thought brought a sad look upon Sakura's face. But then a determined one took it's place. She would not give up. She should find some way for Naruto to be forgiving for killing Kiba and then bring him back along with Sasuke-kun. She would not give up no matter.

* * *

><p>Kakashi could only stare at the Memorial Stone in the old Team Seven training grounds in remorse. Just when had he screwed up so much? That question plagued his mind once again. He had finally thought that things were looking up when Naruto returned, albeit a bit shaky, but it was progress. But then Naruto goes and does something like he did which completely obliterates any hopes he had had.<p>

'Sensei….' thought Kakashi, 'what would you do? Would you forgive me for having failed in helping your son? And Kushina….'

Kakashi didn't know what to think of the redhead. She was as powerful as he remembered her, and still looked as young as she had did. That brought a frown upon Kakashi's face. Who knows what she did to achieve that. But a bigger question would be why she and Naruto were doing what they were doing. Just why did they hate Konoha? It just didn't make any sense! Right?

Kakashi sighed. So many questions, and he didn't have a single answer.

* * *

><p>Kabuto could only chuckle to himself as he looked at Konoha's gate from a cliff.<p>

'I'm almost there,' he thought with a smirk.

He walked down from the cliff and took the main road that led to the village gates. Within about ten minutes, Kabuto stood in front of the closed gates. How easy it could be for him to just sneak in and….

"Holt!"

An anbu squad of four surrounded him.

Okay, maybe it would not be easy for him to just sneak in. Unless he killed them of course. But then again, that would destroy the purpose as to why he bothered to come here in the first place.

Kabuto raised his arms up in the air. "I surrender," he stated with a smirk.

"Who are you?" asked one of the anbu who Kabuto presumed to be the leader.

"I'm Yakushi Kabuto," he answered, the smirk still in place, "and I have a proposition for your hokage."

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Well this brings us up to the next chapter! And no fighting in this one, merely talking and all of that, but the talking is just as important as the fighting if not more in a good story in my opinion.**

**Well tell me what you thought of it? And as you can see, the story is leading up to it's climax. I don't know how many more chapters it's gonna take for me to finish this, and I won't take a guess because I really don't know.**

**And Kishimoto brought back the hokages. Well I can possibly see a future Hashirama vs. Madara in the future perhaps and that is something that I will really look forward to.**

**Well that's it for me once again. And tell me what you thought of it.**

**Till next time!**


	29. Loose End pt II

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 28: Loose End pt. 2<strong>

Darkness.

That was all he could see at the moment. Naruto looked around his surroundings once again to make sure what he was seeing was actual truth. Once he did, he couldn't help but to frown.

'Where am I?' he wondered to himself. Another fact came to light. He was floating! 'What the….what is this!' He tried to move, but then he realized that he couldn't do that either. So in short, he was floating around in a space that was all black with no living thing in sight, and he couldn't move. Did I miss something?

'Well this sucks,' thought Naruto with a frown again. Seconds passed, and before he knew it he came to a complete stop, meaning that he wasn't floating to some random direction, rather just staying in one spot.

**"Heh…."**

Naruto stood, umm floated, in the spot with an impassive look on his face as something in front of him chuckled. He then found himself staring into one huge eye, his rinnegan activating on its own.

**"Those eyes…."** said whatever it was**, "I haven't seen them for quite some time."**

Naruto didn't respond, merely staring right into the eye.

**"So….it was you who awoke me. Interesting. May I ask what you're planning on doing?"**

'So, it's finally awake,' thought Naruto. 'A little sooner than what the scroll said, but welcome nonetheless.'

"You'll see soon enough," answered Naruto.

Silence was the response, but then chuckling was heard once more. **"You must think mighty of yourself if you think you can contain and control me, child."**

Naruto shook his head and smirked. "That's not it. I'm sure you'll join me eventually once you find out why exactly you have been revived for."

**"Hahaha! You're definitely different from that other human who possessed those eyes. And I'm starting to see that it won't be such a bad thing…."**

"I'm so glad," responded Naruto with some sarcasm.

The eye disappeared. **"Show me then that what you say is true. I'll be watching."**

* * *

><p>Naruto then found himself staring into Kushina's concerned face. Naruto shook his head as he stood up in a sitting position on the bed. Currently the two Uzumakis were in an average inn, not expensive but not cheap either, meaning it was just comfortable enough. It was currently dark outside signifying the end of another day.<p>

"What happened?" asked Kushina. "You suddenly just passed out on me. Are you okay?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes, in fact, I'm better than okay."

Kushina raised an eyebrow. "And what is that suppose to mean?"

Naruto shook his head as he laid back down. "It's a surprise," he answered with a knowing smirk.

Kushina scowled. "I don't like surprises," she muttered in response.

She then let out a squeal in surprise as Naruto tackled her to the bed.

* * *

><p>"Oi, oi, where exactly are we heading? Kiri is the other way if you haven't forgotten."<p>

Utakata shook his head. "I know that. Unfortunately, I had to live there. But there's something that I need to do before we get there."

Yagura raised an eyebrow in confusion. "And just what is it that you need to do exactly?"

The two jinchuriki from Kiri were currently walking down a road that lead to The Land of Earth which was completely the opposite way to where Kiri was located in.

"You'll see," answered the rogue ninja.

Yagura could only sigh. 'I guess I'll have to follow him. I don't know what kind of trouble he would get in if I left him alone.'

Afterwards, the duo continued to make their way to wherever the hell Utakata was leading Yagura in silence. Yagura for his part, he couldn't help but look up and stare into the star filled sky.

'Beautiful night,' he thought to himself. This is what he had always wanted, well some aspects of this. Those aspects would be traveling, meeting new people, but most of all have friends and or a family. For no one to know that he was a jinchuriki. No that was wrong, a better way to put it would be for people to know that he was in fact a jinchuriki but not to hate or despise him for it.

Yagura couldn't help but smile at the thought. 'Yes, that would be the best.' But then the smile disappeared. 'Unfortunately, that's a dream that will never happen.'

He came out of his thoughts as Utakata stopped walking. Yagura turned to him with a confused look, before directing his gaze to where Utakata was looking.

'A village?' thought Yagura, now more confused than ever. 'Why would he want to come to a village?'

Before he could ask him, Utakata continued to walk towards it.

As they approached it, Yagura could see that it was in fact not a very big village. Rather it was kind of small. Realization came upon Yagura at that point. 'I see,' he thought, glancing at Utakata. 'There must be something, or rather someone, for him here. I do wonder who though.'

As they approached the open gate that lead inside into the village, a man followed by two others approached them. The man came to a stop in front of them. He directed his gaze at Yagura before turning it to Utakata where it stayed. "You." the man said simply.

"I've come here for Hotaru," stated Utakata.

The man frowned. "I'm sorry to say this, but she will stay here, where she is safe. That is why you left her here with us in the first place." The two men behind him were currently smirking in a very perverted way as their leader finished talking.

Utakata narrowed his eyes, having already seen the look the two men were sporting, and he didn't like it.

Yagura for his part was still confused, but he could tell that whoever this Hotaru person was, she was definitely not safe. In fact, that would be the last thing that she could be in this place.

"I will not repeat myself," said Utakata through gritted teeth.

"Neither will I," responded the man.

The next second he found himself on the floor, Utakata overlooking him and placing his right foot on the man's stomach and stomping on it. "Where is she, you son of a bitch!"

Before either of the other two men could move to help their leader, they fell on the ground, unconscious, courtesy of Yagura who was behind the two. Yagura lowered his right hand that he had used to to knock them out and turned to look at Utakata who was still stomping his foot on the third guy.

"You mind sharing with me just what exactly you're doing at the moment?" said Yagura.

Utakata didn't respond to him. He merely picked up the third man by the collar. "Tell me where you assholes have her right now!"

The man for his part might have been ambitious, a pervert, and a great deal of other things, but he sure as hell wasn't an idiot. "Alright, alright! She's in a house at the farthest edge of the village. Now let me-" he didn't get to finish as Utakata broke his neck. He let the now dead body fall to the ground and took to the rooftops. Yagura, seeing no other choice, began to follow.

* * *

><p>Sakura sighed for what was the hundredth time that night. She was currently sitting on one of the many stools in the Ichiraku Ramen stand, staring into a bowl of ramen with a defeated look on her face.<p>

'Just what am I doing in here anyways?' she thought to herself. She then glanced at the young waitress, Ayane, as she took the order of another customer with a smile on her face. But Sakura knew better. She could tell that the smile on the young woman's face was fake. All she needed to do was to look at the waitress's eyes. The sadness in them.

'So I'm not the only one then…'

"I'm so surprise to see you here, Sakura."

Said pink haired kunoichi turned her head to see another person sitting down next to her. "Iruka-sensei!" she exclaimed, rather surprised. After all, when was the last time that she had seen her old academy teacher? Sakura couldn't honestly remember.

Iruka for his part turned to one of his old students with a forced smile. "Fancy meeting you here Sakura. May I ask as what I owe this surprise to?"

Sakura turned to stare at the still full bowl of ramen in front of her. "I don't know really," she answered truthfully. "I guess I just wanted to come here to remember the past…."

Iruka could only nod. "Yes. I suppose that's why I'm here to."

Sakura finally took her time to really study the academy teacher. He looked horrible. His whole uniform looked dirty like it hadn't been washed in days and Iruka's face looked like as if he hadn't slept in awhile. It finally clicked to Sakura. 'Of course,' she thought sadly, 'if I'm feeling this bad, how bad is Iruka-sensei feeling? Naruto was like family to him….'

"I feel like this is all my fault," said Iruka all of a sudden.

Sakura shook her head at that. "No, that's absurd. Why would you think that? You haven't even seen Naruto in-"

"Maybe that's why," interrupted Iruka. "When I heard that he had suddenly disappeared from the training trip that he had been on with Jiraiya-sama, I felt horrible. I didn't know what to think. But then he came back. At first I wanted nothing more than to just march up to his apartment and demand as to why he had disappeared. But then I heard how he was different, both looks and personality. How cold he was to everyone. So I chose to simply give him time and to then talk to him." He then chuckled bitterly. "And then he leaves again. Only this time, it seems that it was obviously on purpose and not on friendly intentions."

Sakura, who had been listening intently, spoke up. "Yes, that's true, but how is any of this your fault?"

"Maybe if I had just talked to him all of this could have been avoided," he answered.

Sakura sighed. "I don't think it's that simple sensei," she responded, making Iruka turn to her. "Naruto….he, I really don't know how to explain it. It's like he's a really different person now. I still want him and Sasuke-kun to come back, but I know for a fact that it's going to take more than just talking. Something must have had happened to him for him to be doing all of this. And unless we know what that was, I don't think any of us can really help him."

Iruka was silent for a few moments, before he smiled. "Yeah, I suppose you're right about that."

"But we shouldn't give up," continued Sakura, "like I said, I still want him and Sasuke-kun to come back. And I will make it happen. I know that it won't be easy, but I'll still find a way," she finished with a determined look.

Iruka could only feel as if he was looking at a different Sakura now. 'Yes,' he thought, 'if I my student isn't giving up, then I shouldn't give up either.'

* * *

><p>Utakata kicked open the front door of the house and found the living room to be filled with a line of men that lead into a bedroom.<p>

"An anxious one we got here," stated the guard that was standing by the door of the bedroom. "Unfortunately since this is the first night, the line is really big. The first one just went in, so you'll have to-"

Utakata didn't bother to finish to listen to what the security guard had to say. Instead, red chakra started to surround him. "All of you," he began, "get the **fuck out!"**

All present began to scream before jumping out of windows, even the security guard. It was the only other way out other than the front door, but Utakata was standing in front of it, and there was no way in hell they were going to get near him.

Utakata frowned as the red chakra began to disappear. 'I didn't call on your chakra.'

**"It's your anger. Now, shouldn't you be worrying about something else at the moment?"**

Listening to the Rokubi, he made his way to the bedroom where there had previously been a line to get into.

Yagura frowned as he walked into the house, just in time to see Utakata opening the door and walking into the bedroom.

The sight before him made the anger return to Utakata full force. There on the bed, laid Hotaru with a man on top of her, kissing her neck and fondling her breasts through her top. Hotaru for her part, was tied up and had her eyes closed, tears dropping down her face.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" said Utakata dangerously.

That caused the man on top of Hotaru to stop. "Hey, wait your damn turn," he answered, before he made to continue.

He didn't however, as he was flung back to the floor. The man scowled as he stood up. "Hey, just what the hell is your-"

His didn't get to finish as his head was cut off, courtesy of Yagura. The now decapitated body fell on the floor. Utakata turned to look at Yagura who was on the doorway who also shrugged. "I can tell what was happening," he answered Utakata's unasked question, "just as I can tell that this girl is precious to you." He then walked back into the living room, giving Utakata some privacy.

Utakata turned his attention to Hotaru who still had her eyes closed and crying. "Hotaru," said Utakata softly as he approached her. He knelt next to the bed just as Hotaru slowly opened her eyes.

"Is that you….sensei?" she asked hopefully.

Utakata smiled. "Yes, it's me."

He then proceeded to untie her. Once he had done so, the now freed Hotaru embraced him and began to cry on his shoulder. "I was so scared," she admitted through her tears, "I thought you were dead."

"I'm not," responded Utakata softly, "I'm so sorry for leaving you here. I thought that you would be safe."

The blonde girl continued to cry until she fell asleep, everything that had happened having taken a toll.

Utakata picked her up bridal style and walked out of the room and into the living room. He turned towards Yagura who was leaning on one of the walls. "Thank you," said Utakata. It had been rare that he said those words and truly meant it.

"Don't mention it," responded Yagura.

The two jinchuriki and now unconscious girl began to make their way out of the house. "I'm burning this whole village down," stated Utakata with an emotionless look.

Yagura didn't respond.

* * *

><p>Kabuto could only chuckle despite the position he found himself in. Currently we find Orochimaru number two help up in chains with his chakra sealed off in one of the many prison rooms within konoha.<p>

'All is going according to plan,' he thought to himself.

Then the door that lead into his room opened. Tsunade, followed by Ibiki and Anko, entered the room.

"It's about time," said Kabuto.

"Shut up," said Tsunade as she stopped in front of him. "You're so damn lucky that you're still alive at the moment."

Kabuto chuckled. "No, it has nothing to do with luck. It's simply the fact that I have much information that you want, no need. That's why those two are here," said Kabuto, referring to Ibiki and Anko.

Tsunade smirked. "So you're not a complete idiot. But walking to Konoha and surrendering yourself was a completely dumb thing to do."

It was Kabuto's turn to smirk. "I do wonder about that. After all, I just said that I have much information that you need. And I'm completely offering it all to you in turn to letting me live stay here. Not in this prison. Konoha I mean."

Tsunade laughed, hard. "Hahaha! Oh, that's hilarious. And just why exactly should I even consider that? After all, my two shinobi behind me can just find and take that information forcefully and then I can kill you. Now that sounds like a better option to me, don't you think?"

Kabuto's smirk was still in place. "Don't you remember who I use to follow? Do you really think I'm going to be broken by these two? Ha, that's an even more hilarious thought! And if you try any of those Yamanaka techniques," his smirk got wider, "well I'm sure you remember what happened with that akatsuki member you had captured, Hidan, don't you?"

Tsunade frowned at that. "You would go that far?"

"Like I said, you do remember who my master was, don't you?" responded Kabuto.

Tsunade scowled. "Believe me, I know. Well then, just what exactly do you have?"

"First, let me out of these," said Kabuto, referring to his chains.

"Tsunade-sama, I must disagree with this," stated Ibiki with a frown.

"Of course you do," said Kabuto with a chuckle, "but it works for your favor at the end."

Tsunade sighed. "Ibiki, let him out."

"But-"

"He can't use any chakra," interrupted Tsunade, "so even if by some miracle he did escape out of this room, this is a whole prison filled with anbu. He won't be going anywhere."

Ibiki nodded and reluctantly freed Kabuto. Once freed, Kabuto rubbed both his wrists. "That wasn't comfortable you know," he said.

"Just get to the point before I really do kill you," said Tsunade coldly.

"Fine, fine. You're really no fun." Tsuande's mood didn't change making Kabuto sigh. "Alright. The information I'm about to give you will help you at the very least be prepare for the upcoming war."

"War?" said Tsunade in disbelief.

"Oh right, war means that you actually stood a chance. How about calling it a slaughter?" he said with a smirk.

"Just what are you talking about?" asked Tsunade impatiently.

'How does this bastard know?' thought Anko.

Kabuto shrugged. "It's simple really. All of the mistakes that Konoha has made in the past is finally catching up to bite it in the ass."

"And what does that mean?" said Tsunade.

"The Uchiha Massacre for one," stated Kabuto making Tsuande's eyes widened.

"What does that have to do with this?" asked Tsunade.

Kabuto snorted. "Please. The fact that Sasuke was left alive is a threat in itself. But the fact that others survived as well and who know just why exactly that night occurred….well let's just say that that should make it obvious as to what I'm talking about."

'So this means that Sasuke knows as well….but who told him!?' thought Tsunade.

Kabuto chuckled at seeing Tsunade's troubled look. "You must be wondering as to who told him. The answer to that would be his mother-Uchiha Mikoto."

"WHAT!" screamed Tsunade. "But she died that night!"

Kabuto chuckled some more. "I do wonder about that…"

Tsunade scowled. "Listen you…."

"I'm telling you the truth," interrupted Kabuto with a serious look, "but she's not your biggest threat. Well she was one of them, but not anymore."

Tsunade knew with all her heart as to whom Kabuto was talking about, but she still asked, "Then who is?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

'Son of a bitch,' thought Anko, referring to Kabuto. Ibiki for his part, even though he didn't show it, he was confused as hell as to what exactly the two were discussing. He did, however understood the last part. After all, he already knew as to what Naruto had done when he had left.

Tsunade's hands clenched and formed into fists. "Do you know where he is right now?"

Kabuto shook his head. "No I don't. And before you say that I have no more use anymore, I have something that will really help you win this war."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Just what do you mean by war? I find it really hard to believe that an entire village against a few people could hardly be call a war."

Kabuto chuckled. "You're right. And in this case, you're the few people, or Konoha in general."

"And just what is that suppose to mean?" asked Tsunade.

Kabuto readjusted his glasses. "Ever since Naruto has plotted his revenge, he and his allies have enlisted the help of hidden villages. Kumo for example is one of them. There are more."

Tsunade's eyes widened again. "That's…."

"Unbelievable?" finished Kabuto. "Isn't this whole situation unbelievable as well? But that's reality."

"I see then…." muttered Tsunade before she focused on Kabuto again. "And just what else is it that you offer?"

Kabuto smirked. **"The Edo Tensei."**

Tsunade's blood ran cold at the mention of the jutsu. "Do you really think I'm going to be in favor of you using that monstrous jutsu!"

Kabuto shrugged. "You don't really have a choice. If you don't accept, you'll be destroyed for sure. But if you do accept, well at least you'll stand a chance."

'He's right,' thought Tsunade, 'but should I really care about this place anymore?'

_"There's still good people in this village, hime."_

Tsunade's eyes widened as she recalled what Jiraiya had told her. Good people, huh? She had to admit to that. But was that really worth fighting for? A few people in a whole village as big as Konoha? Maybe, maybe not. But what she did think was worth fighting for was to protect her clan's legacy, or what was left of it. That thought made her decision. If they cleared out of this, she would make sure that the village would be cleanse and return to what it had been when her grandfather was in charge, so that none of this could ever repeat itself.

She looked at Kabuto. "Listen here closely, you brat. If you think of double crossing us, I will snap you in half. You got that?"

Kabuto held up his arms in defense. "Please. Why do you think I'm here for in the first place? You succeed, I don't die. You don't succeed, I die. I'll take to double crossing Konoha once this is all over."

'That's better than nothing,' thought Tsunade before facing Anko. "Go tell Shizune to make sure that Cat and her team double time it on their way to Ame right now."

"That's unnecessary," stated Kabuto, "I know exactly as to what has happened in Ame."

'Of course he would,' thought Tsunade. "Well?" she said.

Kabuto smirked. "It's simple really. Naruto has taken down akatsuki."

Anko smirked internally. 'Heh, you're incredible brat.'

"I thought as much," muttered Tsunade. "Tell Shizune to send a message to Cat telling them to return then," said Tsunade to Anko.

Anko nodded before making her way out of the room.

Kabuto chuckled internally as he watched Anko walk away. 'Of course, I never said that I didn't have other motives for coming here, did I? Really Tsunade, you're just too easy to fool.'

* * *

><p>"So we're here…." muttered Kushina as she and Naruto walked out one of the many emergency evacuation tunnels of the village of Konoha. The sight that greeted them was a forest with what appeared to be debris everywhere of what seemed to have had been a house, the morning sun shining full force.<p>

"This was suppose to have been our house," said Kushina.

Naruto looked at the debris. "What happened to it?" he asked.

"It was destroyed during the night that Kyuubi attacked," she answered.

"So the yondaime had an evacuation tunnel built next to his house why?" said Naruto.

"Because of you," answered Kushina with a frown. "After I had told him that I was pregnant, he made sure to take all the necessary precautions that he could. In what was to be your room, he kept **Hiraishin **seals in every corner of the room. This was just simply another one of his precautions."

Naruto didn't respond to that. He merely started to walk with Kushina, who still had a frown, following him. They stopped when they were right in front of the debris.

They didn't have to wait long, however, as Neji landed behind them.

"Right on time, Neji," said Naruto without turning around.

Neji merely nodded and took in the fact that he was wearing the akatsuki uniform before glancing at the redhead next to the blond.

"This is Kushina," answered Naruto as he turned around to face him, "she's another person who has joined us. She's also my mother."

Neji's eyes widened at the revelation. "But I thought both of your parents died?"

"I did die," answered Kushina, "but he revived me." She gave him the shorter version of things.

"How?" asked Neji incredulously.

"The rinnegan," stated Naruto. He didn't have to say anything else as realization came upon Neji's face.

'Of course,' thought Neji, 'this is the greatest dojutsu in existence after all. It shouldn't be surprising that it can do something like reviving people.'

"Neji," said Naruto, "if you want for me to…."

"No," interrupted Neji, already knowing what Naruto was going to say. "My father died because he chose to. If I asked for you to revive him, I would be disrespecting him."

Naruto nodded. "If that is your choice."

"It is," said Neji. He then took out the scroll that the root anbu had given him, and gave it to Naruto.

Naruto took it and eyed the scroll. "Is Fu in position?" he asked.

Neji nodded. "Yes. All that needs to be done is for you to give the signal."

"Good. Then stay low for now. I'll contact you when the time comes. Now go before anyone wonders where you were."

Neji nodded before jumping onto a nearby tree branch. He turned to look back at the two uzumakis. "Good luck," he said simply before taking off.

"What's in the scroll?" asked Kushina as Naruto opened said scroll.

"Information about Danzo and every single one of his operations," answered Naruto as he read it.

"How did you get that?" asked Kushina, shocked.

"I placed a genjutsu on one of Danzo's anbu thanks to Kurama."

**"You're welcome…."**

Naruto rolled his eyes internally.

"When?" said Kushina.

Naruto glanced at her with a smirk. "When you were too busy moping about how to get in my pants. Of course, I didn't know it at the time but…"

Kushina blushed in embarrassment. "D-don't s-say it like that!"

Naruto shrugged. "Well, it's true."

Kushina huffed and turned her head away with her arms crossed, the blush still present.

Naruto chuckled before turning his complete attention back to the scroll. He soon reached a certain part that had his eyes widening. 'This is…!'

Kushina glanced at her son to see his shocked face. Her blush disappeared and she turned serious. "What is it?" she asked him.

Naruto closed the scroll and looked at her. "It would seem that Mito is more clever than we thought."

* * *

><p>Obito could only shake his head repeatedly. "There's just no fucking way that that bastard could be inside there."<p>

**"Are you doubting us, you idiot?"**

Obito sighed. "It just doesn't making any sense!...wait yes it does."

White zetsu chuckled. "About time you caught on, you idiot."

"Wait, you mean you knew?"

Black zetsu scoffed. **"Of course we did. The second we knew that he was in Konoha, it was the second after that that we knew as to why he went there in the first place."**

Obito sweatdropped. "Aren't you exaggerating a little bit there?"

**"No **we **are **not," they answered at the same time.

Obito's eyes twitched. "Whatever," he muttered before facing Konoha. Currently, both Zetsu and Obito were overlooking Konoha from a high cliff. 'Mikoto is not going to like this….'

* * *

><p>Mikoto merely stared at the floating water of a stream in silence. Currently Yugito, Bee, and she were resting before they continued on their way to Kumo.<p>

She was currently wondering about the choices she had made. If she had refused black zetsu's offer, what would had happened differently? She would be dead, that's for sure. And would Naruto still have chosen the path that he has?

'Probably not...' she thought. Is that why she was here then? She was starting to think that Naruto was more special than she previously thought. He came from a powerful clan who was also related to the Senju, another powerful, if not the most powerful, clan that the world has seen. He was also the jinchuriki of the strongest bijuu, and possessed the rinnegan.

Yes, it was the last one that had her thinking all of this. The rinnegan...just what exactly is Naruto meant to do? She honestly couldn't wait to see for herself.

* * *

><p>Both Naruto and Kushina stopped in front of a worn down house with the uzumaki clan symbol on it on the edge of the village.<p>

**"Heh…interesting."**

After having sneaked throughout the whole village, the two uzumakis had finally arrived.

Kushina frowned as she looked at the structure. "This was one of Mito-sama's private buildings," she stated. She then glanced at Naruto's calculating look. "Aren't you wondering why you were never told of this?"

Naruto shrugged. "I was immature," he answered, "so no, I'm not. It's the same about the yondaime."

Even though she knew that she should not ask him, she did anyways. "Then why did you-"

"Because of what he did," he answered before he started to walk towards the entrance of the building. Kushina looked at his retreating form and followed.

Naruto stopped in front of the steps of the door that seemed as if it could collapse at any moment. 'Where is it?' he wondered as he looked around.

"You know, you haven't told me just what exactly we're looking for," said Kushina as she stood next to him.

Before he could respond, something caught Naruto's attention on the doorway. As he analyzed it more closely, realization appeared on his face. 'So I was right.'

He walked up the few steps before arriving right in front of the small swirl on the doorway that was the same as the one that had been on the caves inside the Shodai's face on the Hokage Monument.

As he kneeled to examine it, he took notice of the fact that Kushina was kneeling next to him as well. "This is…!"

Naruto nodded. "Yes. It was on the scroll that Neji gave me. Danzo figure it was some sort of seal, but was never able to figure out how it worked so he gave up. But if this is the same as the one that was inside the cave of the Shodai's face on the Hokage Monument…."

Kushina nodded. "You do it then," she said.

Naruto bit his thumb as if he was going to do a summoning jutsu and smeared the exposed blood on the swirl. It glowed making both Naruto and Kushina jump back.

A puff of smoke appeared just like when someone used a summoning or the shadow clone jutsu.

"Well, it seems as if it was the right decision to trust in you after all, Uzumaki Naruto."

Both Naruto and Kushina narrowed their eyes as the smoke cleared. Once it did, their eyes widened as a redheaded woman with a diamond on her forehead wearing an elaborate kimono in her early twenties became visible.

"Who are you?" asked Naruto.

The redhead smirked in response. "Why, I'm Uzumaki Mito."

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**I'm damn sure none of you expected this! And if anyone did….than damn you mind readers! But yeah, this reaches to another fucking cliffhanger.**

**I was actually suppose to have posted this chapter up yesterday but I was marching in a parade and when I got home I didn't really feel like doing so. But fret not, because here it is! Also, in case you're wondering, yes Shukaku is still in the statue. All will be explained in good time.**

**And damn, I gotta say I like the attitude of the Shodai. And the uchihas are suppose to be emo, huh….well I think we already knew that. I think Itachi and Shisui would be the only exception to this.**

**And that's a rap for me. Hope you all enjoyed it. And do tell me what you thought.**

**Till next time!**


	30. Chosen Path

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, Hologram, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 29: Chosen Path<strong>

Shock. Bewilderment. Confusion.

Those three adjectives could very well, no, they did describe how both Naruto and Kushina felt about the latest turn of events. But if any of you know, and all of you probably do know, about what the latest event was….well I'm sure you can say that you can agree that they have every right to be confused as hell at the moment.

Mito for her part stood there watching the shocked faces of her relatives with unmasked amusement. There was also a twinkle in her eye as she continued to stare at both Naruto and Kushina.

**"Oi, brat! How long are you and your mother just going to stand there like dumbasses? Not that you aren't one to begin with…."**

Naruto came out of his shock thanks to Kurama's obvious observation.

'Aren't you one bit surprised right now?' asked Naruto to his bijuu.

Kurama snorted. **"Of course I'm not. This is Mito we're talking about. I may not like her or have talked to her a lot before, but just from meeting her once you can tell she's both devious and resourceful. So no, I'm not surprised."**

Well apparently one being present was taking this casually.

"How long are you going to stare at me like I'm some sort of divine being or some other thing of the sort?" asked Mito, amusement clearly present in her voice.

Kushina shook her head. "Mito-sama," she began with an unsure tone in her voice, "is that really you?"

Mito nodded. "Yes it is me," she responded.

"But how come you look so young then?" questioned Kushina further with a frown. "The last time I saw you, you were nearly in your hundreds!"

Mito chuckled. "Oh yes, I suppose that would be your first question. And the answer to that my dear is very simple." A small smirked appeared on her face. "The wonders of fuinjutsu."

That put an even bigger frown on Kushina's face. "Seals?" she said unsurely. "I find it really hard to believe that seals could have done all of this."

Mito sighed. "I suppose you would. After all, fuinjutsu is such a complicated art, even if you're an uzumaki." But then her face became dead serious. "But it's the truth. Thanks to my studies in fuinjutsu, I managed to implant part of my soul in a seal with all knowledge of what I knew into it as well."

'That sounds a lot like Orochimaru's curse mark,' thought Naruto as he listened intently.

Mito continued. "Of course, I would still need a body or else my soul would simply disappear the moment that it got out of the seal. Human souls aren't like that of a bijuu after all. They're more delicate. That's where you come in," she said, referring to Naruto.

"My blood," stated Naruto.

Mito nodded as a smile appeared on her face. "Correct. Thanks to your uzumaki genes contained in your blood I was able to be duplicate my body. Of course I wasn't going to make my body come out as that of an old hag. What use would I be then if simply for information? Not to mention that I also want a piece of what's to come."

"Wait a moment," said Naruto, "I'm not completely uzumaki."

"I know that," responded Mito in a bored tone, "but you were the only who would be able to do all that you're doing. I made it so that the seal would only take the necessary parts of your blood that contain the necessary components of to remake my entire DNA. Once the basic components were done, the more complicate ones were done by my own cells and DNA. So I was basically reborn in a way. Also, I didn't know that Kushina would be part in this."

That brought another frown in said redhead's face. "That reminds me. Why didn't you-"

Mito raised up her right arm. "I know what you're going to ask, and I'm unfortunately not going to be able to answer you. Well, completely at least."

"And why is that?" asked Kushina, clearly displeased at that.

Mito sighed as she lowered her arm. "Answer me this first. If I would have told you about what Konoha did to our clan, would you have still fell in love with Minato? Answer honestly, Kushina," she said seriously.

Kushina frowned again. "Well, no I wouldn't have, but what does that have to do with-"

"Everything," interrupted Mito. "That you would not have fell in love with Minato was reason enough for me to not include you."

"What are you talking about?" asked Kushina. "Just why me falling in love with Minato so important!?"

Mito merely turned to Naruto. "Because if you would have not, then Naruto here would not have been born. Which means that all of this would have been impossible."

**'Of course,'** thought Kurama. **'So Madara told her, huh? Heh, so she concluded that telling Kushina was more of a disadvantage then an advantage. You've always been devious, Mito….'**

Kushina became confused at that. Of course, she loved her son, but then again that was because he's her son. But if she would have known about her clan's betrayal, then being with Minato would have been one of her last things to do, even though he saved her life. Hell anyone from Konoha, period. But why was her having Naruto so important?

"While I'm grateful for at least letting me born," spoke up Naruto, causing Mito to look at him, "I don't really see why you chose me."

Mito smirked. "Of course you wouldn't, well not yet. But there will be a time when you will realize just how important you are in the big hand of destiny, Naruto."

Naruto merely looked at his newly revived relative with a calculating look. This was not the first time that someone said something like that to him. The Shinigami did, all the bijuu did, Obito did, and now so did Mito. He knew he would change the world considering what he was planning and the power he possessed, but that was all because of hard work and the circumstances that he found himself in. It wasn't like this was someone's big scheme and he was the grand puppet….right? At this point, Naruto was beginning to question if that was possible. And that brought displeased look on his face. He wasn't some puppet for someone's plan. He had gotten enough of that from Konoha.

"You're misunderstanding me," said Mito as if she could read all the thoughts that were going through his mind, "you're not some tool for someone. The reason you are here is because you chose to be here. You chose this path. Where there many more? Yes, but this is the one that you're walking. What I am saying though is that your choices have a big impact. What those impacts are….well that's for you to find out."

"And why won't you simply tell me?" asked Naruto.

Mito scoffed at that. "Because if I did then that would be the easy way, and that's not the path you want to go. When you gain something because you put so much effort into it, it feels so much sweeter and grand once you obtain it. You won't take it for granted. That's the reason why I didn't put many things in my note to you. Why I purposely left out that I had done this and many other things. If you were given everything on a silver platter, you would have surely fail. But because of you actually doing things and gaining things because you've actually earn them, you are actually strong and capable to succeed."

**"She's right, and you know it. Being handed everything to you without you putting any effort is more of a hindrance than it is a blessing."**

'Yeah, you're right,' thought Naruto.

"I see you understand," noted Mito. "Good."

"I guess I kind of understand why you did what you did," said Kushina, "but that doesn't mean I like it. But what happens now?"

Mito shrugged. "That is not up to me. You are the ones that have the plan on how to eradicate Konoha."

"Yes we do," agreed Naruto. "But will you follow us?"

Mito chuckled. "Of course I will. You don't even have to ask me that."

"That's something that's kind of been troubling me," said Kushina. "I mean, the Shodai was your husband and this village is his greatest legacy."

Mito sighed sadly. "I know that," she admitted softly, "that was the one thing that caused me to have doubts as to if I should help Madara or not. But this is not his legacy anymore. The Sandaime and the others destroyed Hashiramu's dream. If he would look and see what his village has become, he would be ashamed. Of course, he wouldn't do what we're doing. He wasn't like that," she said with a fond smile, "and that's one of the things that made me fall in love with him." But then the smile disappeared. "Unfortunately I don't share that trait and as much as it might make me feel like I'm betraying Hashiramu, the anger at the fact that my entire clan was betrayed the way they were is much stronger."

Mito then looked at Naruto. "I know for a fact that you possess the jutsu to be able to summon the Shinigami without it taking out your soul in return," she stated. "It would explain as to how Kushina is here. But I ask you to not revive my husband or his brother. They have nothing to do with this."

Naruto nodded. It wasn't like he was planning on doing that in the first place. Both the Shodai and Nidaime have simply nothing to do in what happened with the Uzumaki clan. It would be stupid if he hated them for that when they clearly didn't know what happened. They were both dead by that Sandaime though….he was a different story.

"Thank you," said Mito with a bow.

"Well then," said Kushina, "what now Naruto-kun?"

Mito raised an eyebrow on the suffix but didn't comment.

A thought came to the blond at that point. He brought out the Shodai necklace that he had won from Tsunade which caused Mito's eyes to widened when she saw it.

"That's Hashiramu's necklace," she said in surprise, "but why do you have it? He gave it to our granddaughter, Tsunade."

Naruto chuckled as he recalled how he had acquired the said necklace from said woman. "She made a bet with me with the necklace on the line, and as you can see, she lost."

Mito's eyebrows twitched. "So she bet a priceless possession? Is that what you're telling me?"

Naruto nodded. "Yep. And lost it."

"That little…." said Mito with a comical murderous look on her face.

"If you want the necklace, you can have it. He was your husband after all," said Naruto.

Mito shook her head as she calmed down. "No, keep it. Hashiramu gave it to Tsunade and since you've apparently won it from her, it belongs to you now."

Naruto nodded and put the necklace back on.

"When I see that little brat, I'm going to….well I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'll do something alright!" stated Mito.

Kushina chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get your shot at straightening her out."

"Oh?" said Mito with a curious look. "And why is that?"

Kushina shrugged. "Because she's the Godaime Hokage."

As soon as that phrase left Kushina's mouth, Mito's face took the same expression that both Naruto and Kushina had a few moments before when Mito had first appeared. This caused both Naruto and Kushina to look amused just as Mito had.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Mito.

Kushina shook her head. "Nope. I'm being completely honest."

"Dammit Madara," she muttered, "the bastard could have told me that this was going to happen."

"Well you know now," said Naruto with a shrug.

"I suppose so," said Mito with a shrug before a devious smile began to appear on her face. "I guess it's time for me to give my granddaughter a visit after all these years."

* * *

><p>Yagura sighed quietly as he watched Utakata tend to Hotaru's wounds. He then took the now cooked fish that they had caught the night before away from the fire that they had lighted the night before as well.<p>

"How's she doing?" he asked Utakata.

"Better," answered the rogue ninja. It was at that time that Hotaru's eyes opened. As soon as they spotted Utakata, she quickly stood up in a sitting position and embraced him again. Only that this time Utakata did take notice of the fact that a pair of huge breasts were currently being pressed again his chest.

"Sensei!" exclaimed Hotaru. "I'm so glad that it wasn't some dream! You're really here!"

Utakata sighed as a small blush appeared on his cheeks. "Yes I am…"

Yagura merely shook his head and proceeded to eat his fish as Utakata began to explain to his student about what she was a part of now. Said girl embraced him the whole time causing the blush on Utakata's cheek to increase as time went on.

Yagura chuckled internally. 'Oh yes,' he thought, 'this is going to be fun.'

* * *

><p>Karin slowly opened her eyes. As soon as she did, she immediately closed them, the morning sun being responsible for that. The next thing she noticed was the fact that her pelvis area was sore. From what, she didn't know. Maybe she slept the wrong way the previous.<p>

She then stood up in a sitting position on her sleeping bag and stretched. As she did so, two more facts came apparent to her. The first was that she was naked. The second was that she was in a tent. But the only that had a tent was….

Her eyes widened as a massive blush appeared on her face.

"Oi Sasuke," said Suigetsu as he entered, "I don't have anymore toothpaste so can you…."

He stopped speaking as he came face to with a red faced Karin who's top body was exposed thanks to the stretching from before.

There, Suigetsu saw his first pair of real life breasts.

Karin did the only thing that a rational woman would do at this point. She screamed. Hard.

Roshi shook his head as he heard the commotion from below. Currently we find both Roshi and Han sitting on separate tree branches that stood facing each other, both enjoying the fresh morning beauty. Well they were, until the commotion that was happening below them began.

Roshi shook those thoughts away as he glanced at the usual quiet and reserved Han as he stared at the sky.

"Oi, Han," said Roshi.

Said shinobi sparing him a glance was the only indication that he had heard him. But Roshi was use to it. He had worked with Han in the past when they had been Iwa shinobi.

"Let me ask you something," began Roshi. Silence was the response, so he continued. "Just why exactly were you so easy to follow that boy anyways?"

That had been something that had been bothering Roshi ever since it had occurred. Han wasn't one to be convoked so easily, if he could be convinced at all. But that he accepted Naruto's offer so fast like that? Well it was quite a surprise.

Han didn't respond for a few minutes. Roshi was beginning to think that Han wouldn't respond at all when the jinchuriki of the Gobi spoke. "Just what do we have to go back to?" he said softly.

That caught Roshi off guard. Of course that was one of the reasons why he had himself had accepted. So Han felt the same way, huh.

"I have nothing," continued Han, "not to mention that the person I followed and was ready to give my life to in order to protect threw me away like some useless tool." Han shook his head. "Uzumaki Naruto," he said, "I feel that following him will be more beneficiary than the Tsuchikage. That is all."

That was the most that Roshi had heard Han say at once in all the time that he had known him. But he had to agree that Han had a point. Following the blond was definitely better than the Tsuchikage.

Roshi began to look up at the sky just like Han. 'Yes, I definitely have nothing to lose,' he thought. 'After all, I too have nothing.'

* * *

><p>Fu collapsed on the bed in her small room in the underground base. Today's training had been rough. She didn't know if it was morning or afternoon or what. She was underground after all.<p>

'That bastard,' she thought, referring to Danzo, 'all he made me do is call on your chakra.'

**"Of course. I'm the whole reason he wants you in the first place. Nothing more."**

Fu rolled her eyes. 'Thanks for the confidence boost.'

Chomei scoffed. **"Whatever…."**

The reason that the training had been hard was because her body was not use to using Chomei's chakra for a long period of time. After all, Chomei had only given it to her when her life was in danger, and that was it. So she could say that this was beneficiary for her as well. But the thought that the only reason that she was wanted was because of what she contained inside her made her blood boil in anger.

**"I agree with you on that, human."**

Fu sighed. 'Just what is your problem with me anyways? I haven't done a single bad thing to you!'

Chomei scoffed again. **"You really want to know? Fine, I'll tell you. I don't merely just dislike you. I dislike your entire species!"**

'Including Naruto?'

Chomei paused. **"No, well not completely. He might be the second human that I don't despise. I have yet to see…."**

'Well I haven't done anything wrong to you! So I don't see why you don't like me.'

**"You don't get it, do you? Do you realize for how long I have been sealed away and away, time after time by your species simply because they want my power? That right there is the very reason why I despise humans."**

'I see….well then you have every right to feel the way you do. But you're also forgotten that in the same way that you have been used, I have been and currently am.'

That caused Chomei to stop and contemplate his host's words. After a few moments, he spoke. **"Yes, I suppose that that is something that we do share."**

'Exactly. And that's also the very reason why you and I should not be fighting with each other. You want to despise the rest of my race that isn't a jinchuriki? Go ahead, but remember that both jinchurikis and bijuus have that bond of suffering that connects us. I suppose that's why Naruto and Kyuubi get along….'

Chomei was surprised to hear that. **"You know of their relationship?"**

Fu giggled quietly, the only sound in the otherwise silent room. 'You know that sounds weird, but yes, Naruto told me how he and Kyuubi are friends. To be honest, that made me jealous. Want to know why? Because I wish that I could have the same thing with you and call you my friend.'

**"You….want to be my friend?"**

'Of course! Like I said, we share a bond of suffering. And it's because of that we can relate to each other and in the process become friends!'

Chomei was silent. He didn't know what to say. He was too shocked to say anything. A human wanted to become his friends….that's something that he never thought that would happen. What was this feeling? Excitement perhaps. He didn't know, but he honestly didn't care.

**"I suppose we could…."**

Fu smiled. 'Good. Now I have to rest. I'm quite tired from using your chakra. Night Nanabi.'

**"Wait….call me Chomei. That's my real name…."**

Fu's smile became bigger. 'Alright. Then good night, Chomei-chan!'

Chomei snarled. **"I'm not a -chan! And it's not even nightime!"**

Fu simply laughed.

* * *

><p>"I never thought that I would say this but….welcome to Konoha Kabuto."<p>

Kabuto chuckled at Tsunade's disgusted face when she said that. "That's cruel you know…"

"Whatever," said Tsunade with a wave of her hand, "we now need to concentrate on how to prepare ourselves for this…war."

Before Kabuto could speak, Shizune entered the office. "Tsunade-sama I-" she stopped as she immediately saw Kabuto standing in front of Tsunade's desk with a 'what the fuck' look on her face.

Kabuto for his part merely waved eagerly at Tsunade's assistant.

Before Shizune could react, Tsunade spoke. "Before you do anything stupid, yes I know that Kabuto, who was Orochimaru's right hand man, is standing in my office and is waving at you like a moron." Kabuto stopped his actions when he heard that. "Now, what is it that you need to tell me?"

Even though she had many questions that she wanted to ask, Shizune trusted her master so she answered. "Well the council is merely wondering if you are going to respond to the Kazekage's request of a Kage meeting."

"Oh?' said Kabuto as he readjusted his glasses. "Not that is most interesting. And this provides us with a perfect opportunity."

"Is Suna allied with Naruto?" asked Tsunade to Kabuto.

Kabuto shook his head. "No. As far as I know, Naruto hasn't stepped a foot in that village."

"I see…." muttered Tsunade, relieved.

"Well, what will you do, Tsunade-sama?" asked Shizune.

"If the other kages accept, so will I," stated Tsunade, "after all, like Kabuto said, this provides us with a perfect opportunity."

"The other kages will no surely agree," said Kabuto, "this will also be a perfect chance for Naruto to take you out and leave Konoha without a leader. And without a leader, there is chaos. I suggest you readied your army before then."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. I see your point. Well, Shizune, you know what to tell them." Shizune nodded and walked out of the office.

"I must say that you're getting over Jiraiya's death pretty quickly," commented Kabuto.

Tsunade sighed. 'Of course he would know,' she thought. "I'm not completely over it yet," she answered honestly, "but this is no time for mourning. I can do all that when this whole mess is over."

"I see…." said Kabuto.

Before the conversation could go any further, however, Shizune barged into the office, painting and a troubled look on her face.

'Fuck….' thought Tsunade, already knowing what that look meant. It meant some messed up shit was going to happen. Even she would take that bet.

* * *

><p>"I see…."<p>

**"Yeah….so what are we going to do then?"**

Mikoto sighed. "I don't think there's anything to do without revealing ourselves unless Tsunade kills him."

**"I think that Tsunade could very well know about our existence at this point, so that's a moot point. And who knows what else Orochimaru knew…."**

Mikoto had to agree that Obito was right. Orochimaru….that bastard was simply to cunning for his own good. Even though he was already dead, he still fucked up things in some fashion.

"I'll inform Naruto of this," she said. "Since he's there, he'll decided what to do."

**"I see. Then what am I suppose to do now?"**

"Lay low," responded Mikoto. "Do not attract any attention to yourself, you got that?"

**"Yeah….hey wait a minute, why don't you say the same to Zetsu!?"**

Mikoto sighed. "Isn't it obvious? He's not an idiot like you."

**"I take offense to that you know!"**

Mikoto shrugged. "It's the truth. I'll contact you when there's something to be done."

**"Yeah, yeah….I'm out then."**

Obito's hologram form disappeared and Mikoto pocketed the disc away.

"So are we ready to go?" asked Yugito as she and Bee came walking behind her.

Mikoto nodded. "Yes. To Kumo it is."

* * *

><p>"The message should have arrived to the other kages by know," stated Temari as she, Gaara, and Kankuro walked through the sand of the desert that lead to Suna.<p>

Gaara nodded. "Yes. Now all we have to do is wait for a response."

"They'll have no choice to respond," said Kankuro. "After all, it would look bad if the other kages showed up and you didn't. They must all be thinking that right now."

"Wow," said Temari with wide eyes, "you actually said something smart for once. Is this a dream, or are you an impostor that is impersonating Kankuro to get secrets from Suna so me and Gaara should kill you right now? But then again, why would anyone want to impersonate Kankuro of all people…."

"Shut up, Temari," said Kankuro with a twitching eyebrow.

Gaara's lips twitched upward as when someone were to smirk, but fought the urge back. Hey, he had an image to uphold.

Any further conversation ended as a squad of Suna shinobi appeared running towards them.

"Gaara-sama!" said the jonin in the front, meaning he was most likely the leader.

"What is it?" asked Gaara as the jonin and the rest of the squad stopped in front of him.

"We just received news from our spy network of something tremendous that has happened in Ame!"

'Ame?' thought Gaara. That village was really isolated and impossible to get any spies into thanks to Hanzo. But now apparently they can somehow know what has happened there. Either it was some sort of trick by Ame, or something disastrous has happened. And why did he think that Naruto could be involve?

* * *

><p>"Konoha, huh? Sure has changed…." muttered Mito as she gazed at it from on top the Shodai's face on the Hokage Monument.<p>

"I think we have a situation," said Kushina as she pointed to all the entrance gates to enter the village. All three uzumaki could see fighting taking place. What was going on?

"It seems someone has beaten us to the punch," commented Mito.

Naruto smirked. "Well, we can't have that. I suppose we have to show whoever is doing this that they have made a mistake."

Both Kushina and Mito chuckled as they stood at both of his sides.

Mito glanced at Naruto. 'It seems I get to see what you're capable of, Uzumaki Naruto. Show me, show me how powerful you are thanks to the path that you have chosen."

Naruto's rinnegan activated. "Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>Yo!<strong>

**Surprised? Chapter came out earlier than expected right? Yeah, I had free time so I decided that I might as well post this up.**

**So Mito joins in now, but she didn't really give that much of new information. Of course that was on purpose but I hope that doesn't disappoint any of you. Everything will be revealed in due time. After all, what's better in a story than suspense and mystery?**

**And who's attacking Konoha? I guess I'll save that for the next chapter.**

**And I guess that's it for me once again. But don't worry. You might be seeing me post two more new chapters this week. But that's IF, and that's a very big if, I don't get lazy.**

**As always, review and tell me what you thought!**

**Till next time!**


	31. Another Family Reunion

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto….  
>"Hmm…."- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 30: Another Family Reunion<strong>

Chaos. More chaos. And guess what? Even more chaos!

Civilians everywhere ran and screamed for their lives to get into one of the evacuation shelters till this nightmare passed? And what nightmare could that be you may be wondering to yourself. Well, I'm glad you asked. That nightmare is one that is found in almost everyone's mind in some point in time-zombies.

Everywhere both dead shinobi and civilian came out of the ground and attacked anyone that they saw wasn't one of them. Which wasn't really hard to distinguish. I mean, the people that were actually alive were running and screaming everywhere. The zombie themselves-they merely walked until one idiotic civilian ran into them in which case they would all gang up against that one person.

And why should they bother to run in the first place? They had all the time in the world after all….and they were dead.

This was occurring at every gate entrance to the village, but the most concentrated force was at the main gate of all these four.

There we see Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Lee fighting the zombies and protecting civilians at the same time alongside many other nameless average Konoha shinobi. Only problem though was that since they were already dead, the zombies shrugged off everything that they threw at them. This endless fighting was draining them from their stamina, except for Lee. He was kicking and punching zombies left and right with an enthusiastic smile on his face.

Another interesting fact was that the ground at each entrance of the village was pushed up as if an earthquake had occurred. The weird looking rock had bones, heads, and those kinds of things within it, something which made Ino shiver in disgust when she had first seen it.

One figure covered in a cloak stood on top of said weird looking rock at the main entrance. If one were to be able to see his face, he or she would see the smirk on the person's face.

'This should be easy as hell….'

* * *

><p>"Just what the hell is going on out there!" screamed Tsunade within her office as she watched the chaos occurring within the village.<p>

Kabuto himself was frowning at the moment. This wasn't something that they needed at the moment. With everything else happening, they needed to prepare themselves for the upcoming kage meeting as well as the most likely war that would occur afterwards. This wasn't the time for some idiot trying to take some petty revenge on Konoha. The revenge they needed to watch out for was from Naruto, not this!

Kabuto sighed. 'Really, how this village hasn't been destroyed yet is a miracle. It's like everyone is targeting it!'

"We need to find whoever is behind this and take care of him or her," stated Kabuto.

Before Tsunade could respond, she jumped back from the window just as someone jumped through the glass of said window. The person landed on her desk, making documents concurring village matters to fly all around the office.

Tsunade scowled as she stood next to Kabuto. "Well it seems he came to us then," said Kabuto with a smirk. "This just makes things easier."

The person who had barged in through the window was a young boy of sixteen. He had shoulder length blueish-gray hair and wore what Tsunade knew was the standard monk uniform from the Fire Temple. He brought out his right arm which both Kabuto and Tsunade noticed that it was not a regular human arm.

'What is that?' thought both Tsunade and Kabuto, although the latter more interested in researching it for his quest to become even more powerful than the Rikudo Sennin.

"Senju Tsunade," said the boy, "you will die here today!"

Tsunade snorted and reappeared behind the boy. "You're wait too early in trying to challenge me, brat. Now you mind telling just what is it that you're planning on doing? Or should I simply break every bone in your body?"

The boy snarled and brought out his right beastly arm swung on towards Tsunade who caught it effortlessly with a bored look on her face. That look changed to shock however as red chakra began to appear on the arm which burned her right hand that she had used to grab the arm.

Tsunade frowned as she retracted her hand. The boy scowled and jumped through the window that he had used to get in.

Tsunade walked up to the now broken window as she held her hand that was burned thanks to the red chakra and tried to heal it as she watched the boy jumping away on top of rooftops.

"What was that?" asked Kabuto as he walked up next to her.

"I don't know," answered Tsunade as she looked at her hand, "but something tells me that we haven't seen anything yet."

* * *

><p>Kushina could only sweatdropped as she watched the commotion unfold on the streets from her position on the rooftops along with both Naruto and Mito.<p>

"Zombies?" she said uncertainly.

Mito nodded. "It would appear so."

"So fucking cliche…." muttered Naruto.

Mito looked at both of them. "Do you two have any idea as to who could be behind this?"

Naruto shrugged. "Hell if I know. I mean, I think I would have remembered someone that can bring people back as zombies."

Kushina shook her head. "If Naruto-kun doesn't know, then it's even less likely that I did."

Mito sighed. "Well I suppose we have to simply find them then."

**"Oi, brat. There's something else…."**

'What?'

**"Someone here apparently has my chakra."**

'What?' said Naruto with narrowed eyes, a look missed by Mito as she had her eyes closed and was concentrating at the moment, but Kushina caught it.

**"Yes, but whoever this person is has no control of it whatsoever. I can feel my conscious that has formed there trying to escape. Now since it's my chakra in the first place, I personally believe that we should capture this person and take it back."**

'I agree with you on that,' thought Naruto.

"I've found them," said Mito as she opened her eyes.

"Where to?" asked Naruto.

"There's one nearby, but something is odd about him," responded Mito.

"What is it?" asked Kushina.

Mito frowned as she answered, "If I'm not mistaken, I felt Kyuubi's chakra from within him."

**"That's him!"**

Naruto smirked as he caught sight of the person that they were talking about as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. He disappeared in a dark flash and reappeared right in front of the boy and kicked him back into a wall.

Mito had a curious look on her face as she saw this. "Did he just disappeared in a black flash?" she asked to Kushina.

Kushina nodded. "Yes, although I'm not entirely sure how it works, but apparently it doesn't require any type of seals."

"Now that is interesting…" muttered Mito with a smirk. She then turned away from where Naruto was beginning to walk towards the boy. "Come on. That boy is not the only one that is involve here. Let's go have some fun."

Kushina's face turned into an identical smirk that Mito had. "Let's go then." They disappeared.

Naruto picked up the boy that was struggling to get himself out of the wall and held him up by the boy's throat.

The boy scowled or the closest he could do to it and the red chakra from before began to appear except it was coming out of his entire body this time.

"Oh?" said Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "So you do possess Kurama's chakra." He then smirked as he began to absorb the chakra coming out of the boy. "I'm not sorry to say that that will not work on me."

The boy now had a panicking look on his face. "H-how?" he managed to ask.

Naruto merely shrugged. "It's simple really. Unlike you, I'm use to this chakra and can use it properly." He smirked again as the absorbed chakra began to surround Naruto in a swirl and the head of Kurama appeared next to Naruto. "And there's also the fact that the real owner of this chakra prefers me over you." He held the boy's throat even harder causing the said teenage boy to began to cough.

"What's your name anyway?" asked Naruto.

"S-sora….."

"And how did you come about this chakra in the first place?" questioned Naruto further.

"I-i don't know. I-it's been w-with me ever since I-i was b-born."

"I see…." muttered Naruto before crushing the boy's, now identified as Sora, throat. Naruto let go of the now dead corpse. It went crashing down the street below but the few people that were actually present and alive were too busy trying to hide in order to live to pay any attention to what had just occurred.

**"Oh yes, that felt good."**

Naruto chuckled before realizing that both Kushina and Mito were gone. One of his eyebrows twitched. 'Did they just ditch me?'

**"It seems so. But look at this way-now we don't have anyone nagging at us telling us if we can't do this or that or whatever."**

Naruto smirked as he took out a sword….from somewhere. 'You're right. I haven't used my sword in awhile. I guess no time is better than now!'

With that he jumped into the street below where he proceed to slice anyone down, no matter if they were a zombie, a civilian, or a shinobi.

* * *

><p>A man with long white hair and a staff in his hand could be sitting down in on a tree branch in one of the many forests in Konoha.<p>

'It won't take long for Sora to return,' he thought, 'then I'll summon my old team members to use that jutsu. Then, the only needed king will remain.'

"We have company," said a striking beautiful redhead leaning on the tree trunk.

The man glanced towards the direction of the village in time to see two other redheads walking towards them. 'What do we have here?' he thought to himself.

Mito and Kushina looked up to see the man standing up and jumping down and landed in front of the redheads. The other redhead appeared next to the man's side.

Mito looked at the man with a bored look and then glanced at the redhead. 'Now this is interesting,' thought Mito. 'Could she be...?'

"May I help you two ladies?" asked the man with what he presumed to be a charming smile.

"No you can't," stated Mito coldly, "you are merely a hindrance. No, you're lower than that."

The man narrowed his eyes. "Do you know who I am? I'm Furido! The man that will make the Land of Fire reach it's full potential! And the only way to do that is to destroy Konoha and its king along the way."

"Even though I share your sentiment about Konoha," began Mito, "like I stated before, you're a fool and an annoyance. Now die."

Furido made to bring his staff up to block any attacks from the redhead, but he found that he couldn't move his arms. Hell, he couldn't move his body, period!

Mito chuckled at seeing Furido's scared look. "You really do talk too much you know," she stated as she brought her left hand up to a ram sign. "But once again, you're a fool."

"Furido, what's wrong?" asked the redhead next to him as she made to help him, but found that she herself couldn't move. 'What the hell?' she thought.

"You will stay there," said Mito, glancing at her.

Kushina for her part was staring at the scene in awe. She could now see what Mito had done to both Furido and the woman, and it shocked her to her core. 'Just when did she have the time to construct this seal?' she wondered as she gazed at the patterns of the seal surrounding both Furido and the other redhead. 'It stops movement, paralyzing whoever is inside,' she thought as she studied it and then glanced at Mito. 'Her mastery of fuinjutsu is just completely out of anyone's reach. I don't think anyone has come close to her level….except maybe for the Rikudo Sennin.'

Mito took out a kunai from one of her sleeves of her kimono. "Well this is it for you," she said to Furido and threw it straight at Furido's head, hitting dead on.

Furido's body fell face first to the ground.

'So it doesn't apply to someone who is dead,' realized Kushina.

Mito then turned towards the woman. "May I ask who you are?" asked Mito.

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Why should I tell you anything?"

Mito shrugged. "Probably because we're family," she answered, making Kushina's eyes to widen.

The woman laughed. "Oh that's a good one. You? My family? That's the most stupid-" she stopped talking when she saw Mito's eyes turning emotionless.

"I would stop talking if I were you," she stated, "or else I'll simply kill you instead of trying to actually make you use your life for something useful."

The woman frowned. 'I guess there's nothing to lose. If I piss her off, I'll die.' "Fine," she said out loud, "my name is Fuka."

Mito nodded. "I see. Well then Fuka, you mind telling me why exactly you were following that idiot?" she asked, pointing towards Furido's dead body.

Fuka chuckled. "The truth?" She shrugged. "It's because I was bored. There was nothing for me to do before he asked me to join him, so I figured that following him would keep me out of my boredom. That dream of his? I don't care at all about 'kings' or making the Land of Fire the 'achieve it's destiny.'" She chuckle some more when she said that. "So what now? You going to kill me?"

Mito smirked. "Of course not, because you have just passed," she responded as the seal formula on the ground disappeared.

Fuka moved every part of her body to make sure it was working like before and then faced Mito. "I don't know what you mean by passing, but something tells me that what you're doing is not idiotic as what Furido was up to."

Mito nodded. "That's correct, and considering that this involves your heritage as well, I'm sure you'll want to be part of this."

Fuka frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Are you an orphan?" asked Mito.

Fuka nodded. "Yes, I am. As long as I can remember I was in an orphanage before the headmother sold me to slave traders. After that, I worked to become strong to not rely on others."

"I see," said Mito, "so you have never wondered who your parents were? Or where you come from?"

Fuka shrugged. "Not really. It doesn't matter to me. Can you miss something that you never had? I don't think so."

Mito smiled. "I respect that." But then she turned serious. "But I can tell you where exactly you are from and as to why you were an orphan."

"Oh?" said Fuka. "Please enlighten me…."

"You're an uzumaki," began Mito, "a clan which comes from the village Uzushiogakure from Uzu. It's a clan that specializes in fuinjutsu and have large amounts of chakra as well as live for a long time. We're also known for our striking red hair."

Fuka momentarily glanced at her hair.

Mito continued. "Our clan was a very powerful one, something that the other nations feared. So they decided to eradicate us. Of course we never stood a chance against the combine force of three major villages. We were but only one clan after all. But we did manage to wipe about half of the combined force, though. That's how powerful we were, no are. And we could have been saved by Konoha. Uzu and Konoha were supposed allies because of the fact that we are related to the Senju clan who founded Konoha. But as fate would have it, that supposed alliance was all just in paper. They found out about the invasion but didn't do anything to help us. They turned their backs to us and let us rot. Now….now it's our turn to strike back. To show them that no one crosses the Uzumaki without any consequences."

Fuka pondered the newly acquired information. It came to a surprise to her. That she came from such a prestigious clan. But that was it.

"While I thank you for telling me this," began Fuka, " I already told you that it doesn't matter to me where I came from; it doesn't concern me."

"Not including the fact that they killed your parents?" retorted Mito.

Fuka's eyes widened slightly at that. "How would you know if my parents were killed or not?"

Mito smirked. "Fuka….the same name I gave you."

Fuka's eyes widened completely at that, and so did Kushina, who was listening intently the whole time. "What bullshit are you sprouting now!?" screamed Fuka.

"I traveled to Uzu after the attack," explained Mito, "and there during my trying to find any survivors, I found you. Your parents were laying in a protective embrace around you, dead. I'm not sure how you survived, but it didn't matter to me. I took you and took care of you. Of course I couldn't bring you back to Konoha, so I left you in an orphanage with specific orders for you take care of you." She chuckled bitterly. "It wasn't till later when I was almost in my deathbed did I find out that you had been sold. But by then, I couldn't do anything anymore." Mito looked down. "That was my mistake. I should have found a better way. I'm sorry for that."

Fuka by this point couldn't stand anymore. She kneeling and looking down. Just..she couldn't describe what she felt at the moment. What was she suppose to feel?

"So…you saved me…?" whispered Fuka.

Mito sighed. "Yes I did, but then I left you for dead in a sense. So I suppose that it is even. But I just wanted for you to know what had happened…"

"How did you know it was me?" asked Fuka.

Mito smiled. "While you've obviously grown up, your face still resembles that of the baby that I found that day. I just wanted to confirm that it was you."

Fuka chuckled quietly. "I never expected this…." she muttered.

Mito walked up to her and kneeled beside her. "I ask you once again…will you please join us?"

Fuka looked up at Mito and smirked even though there were a few tears coming down. "Like I said….I was bored. I guess this will kill that…."

* * *

><p>"There's no end to this!" screamed Ino. She was panting as a new wave of zombies began to appear out of the ground.<p>

Shikamaru could only nod. "Yeah, it seems that taking care of that guy will be the only way to end this," he said pointing to the man on top of the rock structure without his cloak any more.

'It's a good thing that Furido taught me this jutsu,' thought then man.

"Oi, Fudo," said a woman as she appeared next to the newly identified Fudo.

"What is it Fuen?" asked Fudo, confused. She was supposed to have made the signal to summon the other members of Twelve Guardian Shinobi.

"Sora is dead," stated the newly identified Fuen.

"What?" said Fudo, shocked. Furido would not take to this well at all. "Who did it?"

Before she could respond, a shockwave from down below caught their attention.

Shikamaru shielded his eyes from the after blast of the shockwave. 'What is it now?' he thought.

"Shikamaru," muttered Choji.

Shikamaru glanced at his best friend to see his troubled look. Choji merely pointed to where the blast had come from. Shikamaru followed and his eyes widened as he saw Naruto standing there. 'Naruto?' thought Shikamaru. 'What is he doing here?'

"Naruto-kun," said Lee.

"Lee," said Shikamaru making said youthful shinobi to look at him, "go tell Tsunade-sama of this immediately. You're the fastest one of us…so go!"

"Yosh!" said Lee with a salute before taking off.

'You better hurry Lee….' thought Shikamaru.

**"So it's those two over there, huh?"**

Naruto mentally nodded. 'It would seem so. Time to play for real…'

"It was him," stated Fuen as she pointed at Naruto.

Fudo smirked as he looked at Naruto. "That brat, huh? I'll make him regret that he ever crossed us."

The remaining surviving Konoha shinobi looked at Naruto with hatred in their eyes, the gratitude for him having defeated Hidan before now completely gone.

One shinobi brought out a kunai and charged at Naruto. "DIE!" he screamed.

He didn't take notice to the fact that Naruto's usual crystal blue eyes were no longer the same. As he brought the kunai down, a force blew him all the way back to where Fuen and Fudo were.

'What the….?' thought Fudo. Fuen narrowed her eyes.

'Is that his ability to manipulate forces?' thought Shikamaru. 'It no doubt has something to do with those eyes of his….'

"What do we do Shikamaru?" asked Ino.

"I don't know," answered Shikamaru.

Fudo jumped down from the rock and landed on the ground. "You blond brat," he said, pointing at Naruto. "You're going to die here today."

Naruto merely snorted at that. 'That's it,' he thought. **"Bansho Tenin!"**

'What the fuck!' thought Fudo as he was pulled forward.

"You will die here today," said Naruto as he brought his sword forward.

Fuen's eyes were wide as Fudo was stabbed. 'How…?'

"Y-you bastard," said Fudo, blood coming out of his mouth.

Naruto snorted again. "Seriously, if that's all you got, then you should have never had said that you would kill me."

All around, the zombies began to dissolve into dust. Even the weird looking rock formation began to disappear, making Fuen jump off.

Naruto grabbed Fudo's left shoulder, and as he pulled his arm back, a white figure began to come out making Fudo's eyes widened. "You're done for," stated Naruto as he finished retracting Fudo's soul.

By this time, Fudo's face was full of fear as as a weird looking face appeared behind the blond. Naruto merely threw the now soulless body into The King of Hell's mouth. Afterwards, it disappeared.

'Just what happened?' thought Shikamaru.

"You're next," said Naruto, talking to Fuen.

Fuen took a step back making Naruto smirk. "Sorry, but you won't be getting away," he stated.

'I don't have time to do any of my traps,' thought Fuen. 'My only option is to run….'

"Oi, don't be forgetting about us!" said the remaining Konoha shinobi as they all launched any jutsu that they possessed towards Naruto be it fire based, or lightning or earth based. That they would forget that Fuen was their original enemy just because Naruto was here….than damn, they must really do hate Naruto.

Naruto rolled his eyes. 'For the love of….' he merely brought his right arm up and right in front of their eyes, all of their jutsu simply disappeared. Or that's what it looked like to them.

"You're all annoyances," said Naruto. **"Shinra Tensei!"**

That was the sight that both Tsunade and Kabuto arrived to see-all the Konoha shinobi being blown back including them.

Fuen covered her eyes as she was out of range of the blast, thankfully. Or that's what she thought. Her eyes widened as she felt pain in her chest. She looked down to see the tip of a sword sticking out.

"I haven't forgotten about you," said Naruto from behind her. He pulled his sword out and she fell on the ground, bleeding to death.

"Naruto!" screamed Tsunade as she stepped forward. "You will not escape, you got that!"

Naruto for the first got the time to study the shinobi behind her….let's just say that there were a lot.

'A challenge…I love challenges,' thought Naruto. Before he could do anything, however, a voice spoke up.

"We leave you for about an hour and this happens," commented Mito as she, Kushina, and Fuka appeared beside Naruto.

Naruto snorted. "You were the ones who ditched me, so I'm sorry if I got bored."

Kushina shook her head. "Really, you're just…I don't know."

Naruto chuckled. "Exactly."

Mito stepped up, making Tsunade see her fully for the first time. "Well you have certainly grown up, Tsunade," said Mito with a smile.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you….?" said Tsunade.

Mito shook her head. "To think that you've forgotten about your dear grandmother who loved you so much," said Mito with a sad look on her face. It was clearly sarcastic though.

Tsunade's eyes widened. "W-what?" The rest of the Konoha shinobi behind her looked unsure. "Mito-obachan?"

Mito smirked. "You remember me now?"

Tsunade's mouth opened but no words came out.

'Tsunade-sama,' thought Sakura from within the gathered shinobi.

'Naruto-kun,' thought Hinata, looking at Naruto.

"Well," said Naruto as he stepped up as well, rinnegan glowing, "now that the pleasantries are over, let's get this show on the road."

* * *

><p>Kabuto chuckled as the last of his snakes brought him the last samples that he needed.<p>

'Yes,' he thought as he held one small tube containing blood, 'with all of this, I am now prepared for the Uchihas as well as Naruto-kun.'

He laughed as he readjusted his glasses. 'Yes, I am prepared. Now Naruto-kun….you make your move.'

* * *

><p><strong>Yo…again<strong>

**Yeah updated again and on the same day. Surprised? Well if you are, then none of you are as surprised as I am. Don't know why I did, but before I knew it I found myself writing this…..so here it is!**

**So yeah, the ones attacking Konoha were Furido and his group. And what do you think of the history between Fuka and Mito? Pretty unexpected huh? Well yeah, that makes another person in Naruto's group.**

**Not to mention what's happening with the confrontation between Naruto and Konoha. And Kabuto….meh it shouldn't be surprising as to what he's doing.**

**Well then, I'm done for now. Tell me what you thought once more.**

**Till next time**


	32. Caring? Or just simply Another Fool?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 31:<br>Caring? Or just simply another fool?**

Within underground Konoha where things seem to be relative calm unlike how things really were in the surface, one old man was up to his old tricks again.

"Hey, what is this! Let me go you bastards!" screamed a tied up Fu as members of Danzo's Root dragged her to the middle of a room which was surrounded by a big seal. Despite the situation she found herself in, Fu couldn't help but to be amazed at the seal designs. Of course she didn't understand any of it since she had no skill whatsoever in fuinjutsu, but it still looked pretty interesting to her.

But this brings us as to what led to this situation. Fu herself didn't know what was going on at the moment. All she knew for sure was that she was awoken from strong and violent shakes that seemed to have been caused by an earthquake or something of the sort. Then the door to her room was opened by the two root anbu members that were dragging her at the moment, placed a seal on her forehead, overpowered her, tying her up, and then proceeded to drag her out the room. Where to? She had no idea.

She scowled as they literally threw her into the center of the room. She tried to use her chakra to use her jutsu to escape, but like before when she had tried to do also when the anbu had try to tie her, she couldn't. Even though she didn't want to rely on Chomei's chakra, she tried calling on it as that was her last resort, but then she found out that she couldn't do that also. Now she started to panic. 'What's going on here?' she wondered to herself.

"It's time to put you to good use," stated Danzo as he walked into the room followed by two more of his operatives. Now that she studied the room, Fu could see that members of Root were everywhere.

Fu scowled again. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked as stood up on her knees. "And let me go!"

"I wished there would have been more time to train you," began Danzo, ignoring her question, "since I would have preferred for you to have been able to do this by yourself, but there is no choice at the moment."

"Answer me!" screamed Fu.

Danzo didn't reply. He merely brought his hand that was not covered in bandages to the ram seal, his cane falling to the ground. Pain began to course through Fu's body as the seal on the ground around her began to glow.

"Now, it's time for you be a service for the good of Konoha," stated Danzo emotionlessly.

Fu could only scream in pain as Chomei's chakra began to surround her.

* * *

><p>On the surface, the scene before us could very well be the same as to what had occurred that night about sixteen years ago? The differences were that of course the Hokage Monument had another face of a hokage added to it, and the fact that Kurama looked different the from what he did that night.<p>

Kurama himself couldn't help but be excited as he stared at the terrified Konoha shinobi before him. He had waited to do this for a short time in his experience of time of course. He was an ageless being, so sixteen years in time wasn't that much for him. But the point of the matter was that he would finally finish what he couldn't do sixteen years ago. Of course, it had all been set up by Obito's other self, but after the Yondaime had liberated him from Tobi's control, it had been all him. And since the Yondaime or anyone else that could do the same as the Yondaime was not here to stop him, he would finally crush Konoha.

"Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura fearfully from her spot next to said shinobi, a look of fright on her face, "what are we going to do?"

"I don't know," answered Kakashi. He himself was not liking the situation at the moment. Well who would!? Well if you cared about Konoha you wouldn't, but let's not go there.

'Troublesome,' thought both Shikaku and Shikamaru at the same time. 'How are we going to deal with this?' thought Shikaku.

Kurama roared making the Konoha shinobi that were gathered to step back as Kurama let his chakra be felt by all even if they weren't sensors.

'Oi, Kurama,' said Naruto as he stood on top of Kurama's head in his bijuu mode, 'there's no time for playing here.'

**"Heh, and what about that complicated plan of yours? With what we're doing here, doesn't it make all that pointless now?"**

'No, it doesn't,' stated Naruto, making Kurama confused.

**"What do you mean by that?"**

Naruto shook his head. 'There's no time to explain now.'

**"Whatever…"** Kurama turned his attention to the gathered shinobi once more only to see a group of shinobi that were his size now. **'When did this happen?'**

"It's pointless," said Naruto out loud as he gazed at the Akimichi that had used their expansion jutsu.

"We'll see about that," replied Choza with his bo staff in his right hand.

That seemed like some sort of signal as the rest of the Akimichi charged at Kurama.

"I take it this is part of your strategy," said Kakashi to Shikaku.

"It's our only shot," simply responded Shikaku.

"Surround him!" declared Choza to his fellow clansmen.

Naruto merely sighed as the Akimichi surrounded Kurama and held him there with their strength thanks to their big size at the moment. 'Really, idiots….'

Kurama himself didn't even try to move as the Akimichi held him back. Choza brought his bo staff over his head and brought it down upon Kurama but it was stopped by another Naruto with one hand. 'What!?' thought Choza.

'Impossible,' thought Shikaku from the ground. 'But it doesn't matter. Now for the Yamanaka clan to….'

He didn't get to finish the rest of his thoughts as the Akimichi that were holding Kurama began to scream in pain, Choji included who was in the group.

"Really," said Naruto, "for all of you to be stupid enough to actually touch demonic chakra with your bare hands…." Naruto shook his head. "That's just simply beyond stupidity."

Shikaku's eyes widened. 'How could I be such an idiot!?'

The Naruto that held the bo staff simply snapped it in two making Choza take a step back. He didn't get far as clone charged at him with a **Wind Style: Rasen Shuriken**, hitting Choza dead on. The end result….well let's just say it wasn't pretty.

"DAD!" screamed Choji as he momentarily forgot about the pain from his burnt hands thanks to chakra burns from touching Kurama's chakra.

**"I'm still here!"** declared Kurama as he charged at all the injured Akimichi.

"Get back!" ordered Kakashi to all the shinobi as Kurama charged.

"I don't get it," said Fuka with a confused look on her face as she stood on Kurama's back next to Kushina and watched as how the battle proceeded. "We're touching Kyuubi's chakra as well, but we're not harmed."

"It's simple really," replied Kushina calmly, "Naruto-kun here has both a level of mastery and of friendship with Kyuubi that he can control as to whom he wants Kyuubi's chakra to be harmful to. That and of course there's also the fact that I was the jinchuriki of Kyuubi before him, and that we're also both from the Uzumaki clan who can handle the chakra of that of a bijuu."

"I see…." muttered Fuka as she refocused back on the battle.

"Choji, retreat!" screamed Shikamaru to his best friend.

But it was no use. Kurama was simply too fast for that of a member from the Akimichi clan. Choji brought his already injured hands forward to block Kurama.

Shikaku gritted his teeth and turned towards Inoichi. "Do it," he said simply as Choji began to scream in pain. "And no one attack at the moment," he said to the other shinobi.

**"Shintenshin no jutsu!"** said Inoichi.

Inoichi then found himself within a sewer. 'What is this?' he thought to himself as he looked around. 'I was suppose to go to….'

"Sorry," said someone from behind him making Inoichi turn around but he wasn't fast enough. He found a sword implanted in his chest. He turned to look back to see Naruto's dark look. "I really don't like people who try to invade my mind," said Naruto darkly.

In the real world, Inoichi's body simply fell to the ground.

"Dad!" said Ino as she ran and kneel next to her father's downed body.

'What happened?' thought Shukaku.

"This isn't working," observed Kakashi. Well no shit….

**"Time to get rid of you vermin," **declared Kurama as he gazed at Choji's pained look. **"I'm impressed that you have managed to last this long, but this is it for you."** Kurama's mouth opened as blue and dark red chakra began to form into a purplish ball of chakra. **"Bijudama!"**

Choji screamed in pain as the strongest attack of a bijuu hit him dead on at point blank range. To keep it simple, his body was simply blown up into pieces.

"NO!" screamed Shikamaru as he fought to stop the tears from falling.

Kakashi cursed as he saw this. "Everyone, attack now!" he declared to all the other shinobi. They in return fired every long range jutsu that they knew. The jutsus all ranged from fire, water, earth, lighting, and even some wind based ones.

"I thought we had already cleared this up," began Naruto calmly, as he brought his right arm forward, rinnegan activated, "but any type of jutsu will not work with me anymore." All the Konoha shinobi could only stare wide eyed as all their combined attacks were simply absorbed by the blond jinchuriki.

'This is not good,' observed Shikaku, 'the Akimichis are down, so is Inoichi, and it seems that ninjutsu will really not work on him. Just what are those eyes!?'

"Wow…." Fuka was wide eyed as she watched on.

Kushina simply smirked. 'That's my son….'

* * *

><p>On the roof of the Hokage building, another battle was taking place at the moment. One between relatives-a granddaughter fighting her grandmother….now does that sound weird to anyone else?<p>

Tsunade couldn't keep the irritation out of her face as Mito seemed to dodge all her punches and kicks with ease. Hell, she even had a smirk on her face!

Mito jumped back as Tsunade paused to catch her breath. "I hate to say it," began Mito as she looked at her granddaughter, "but I must say that I am disappointed."

Tsunade scowled. Don't count me out yet!" she retorted. "I haven't even started yet!"

"Well that's good," responded Mito calmly, "because if all you can do is to swing wildly at me, then we should simply stop right now. You're strength is formidable, but what good does it do if you can't even land a single hit on me?"

Tsunade gritted her teeth and charged at her grandmother once more. And once again Mito gracefully avoided all the attacks that Tsunade sent her way. 'How is she good at taijutsu?' thought Tsunade as she continued her barrages of attacks. 'I thought that she simply excelled in fuinjutsu!'

Mito smirked as she noticed her granddaughter's frustrated look and for the first time made a counterattack.

Tsunade's eyes widened as Mito did a low kick aimed for her legs that had her landing on her ass and a strong punch to the gut that had her flying back to one of the columns.

Mito shook her head as Tsunade tried to get up. "Really Tsunade, did you really think that just because fuinjutsu is my specialty that I wouldn't know anything else? While it is true that I prefer fuinjutsu, the fact of the matter is that one must never rely on one skill alone so that one can fall back on something if your preferred skill fails."

Tsunade gritted her teeth as she stood up. "But you haven't even used fuinjutsu yet…."

Mito nodded her head. "True, but that's because I wanted to fight you in taijutsu to see how I would fare against you." She then frowned. "Of course, I never expected it to be this easy…."

Tsunade could only scowl in response. "Just why….why must you do this?"

Mito frowned at that. "It should be obvious by this point, shouldn't it? Konoha betrayed my clan, it's as simply as that. And why are you yourself protecting this place? Have you forgotten that we, Uzumakis, are related to the Senju? Konoha has basically betrayed its very founders since they have also done the same thing to the Uchihas."

"The Uchihas are traitors!" exclaimed Tsunade.

Mito shrugged. "Yes, they are, But are you any better then? Konoha betrayed the uzumakis meaning that this village is a traitor as well. Haven't you thought of that?"

Tsunade looked down. "I just simply want to protect what my family left behind…..it's all I have left."

Mito shook her head. "You really are an idiot aren't you? Can't you see that I'm here!"

Tsunade sighed and shook her head. "You're not the same person that you once were…."

Mito chuckled bitterly. "I suppose I'm not that ignorant fool you mean? In that case, I actually prefer who I am now."

Before the conversation could go any further, a big explosion in the middle of the village caught their attention.

* * *

><p>Naruto who was still on top of Kurama's head narrowed his rinnegan eyes as he saw the explosion and what had caused it. 'This chakra….I know it,' he thought.<p>

**"So do I…."**

"What now?" said Kakashi as he looked to the center of the village. The **Bijudama **that had killed Choji had kept gone even after killing Choji destroying a lot of buildings and even taking a bunch of shinobi in the process.

The sight that greeted them really was the last straw for the average Konoha shinobi that was present at the moment. Most of them relieved themselves if you know what I mean. And what sight was that? The sight of another bijuu or more precisely Fu taking the form of Chomei.

'The Nanabi…..' thought Naruto as his hands became fists at his sides. 'Danzo, you piece of shit….'

"How….?" said Kakashi with wide eyes as he looked at the other bijuu.

Shikaku scowled, knowing full well who was behind this. 'Danzo, to think you would go as far as this….'

"What is that?" asked Fuka as she pointed at Chomei.

Kushina sighed. "Trouble, that's what…."

"Kurama," said Naruto so that only said bijuu could hear him, "we're going to take care of him without killing Fu."

Kurama frowned at this. He of course could take care of Chomei. He had done so in the past. But that was when he had not held back at all, aiming for the kill. But now that was not possible. Delicacy was not one of his strong points.

**"I'll try…."** he muttered.

Naruto didn't reply.

Forgetting about the gathered and frightened Konoha shinobi that still remained, both Naruto and Kurama focused their complete attention to the approaching Chomei who was charging his own **Bijudama**.

**"Oh, no you don't,"** declared Kurama as he began to do the same.

Kakashi's eyes widened when he saw this. If one of those things could cause so much damage, what would two do? Especially if they collided with each other?

"EVERYONE GET BACK!"

Both Kurama and Chomei fired at the same time. **"BIJUDAMA!"**

Then end result? A hell of an explosion.

* * *

><p>On the rooftop of the Hokage building, both Tsunade and Mito shielded their eyes from the blast and the brightness that came with it.<p>

'Danzo,' thought Tsunade bitterly, 'as if I didn't have enough problems to deal with….'

Mito for her part frowned as the blast began to die down, not expecting this at all.

Both women then turned to look to Mito's right or for Tsunade, Mito's left, to see Obito appearing in a vortex.

"You…." said Mito quietly as she gazed at one of the surviving Uchiha members.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she immediately recognized the man to be an Uchiha, but didn't know who exactly he was.

"I take it you're the famous Uzumaki Mito that I've heard so much about," stated Obito as he looked at Mito.

"Oh?" said Mito with a raised eyebrow. "And who did you hear that from?"

"Uchiha Madara," he simply said.

"So Madara told you about me, huh?" said Mito. "Should I be flattered?"

Obito chuckled. "No fucking clue." He then turned serious. "This wasn't part of the plan."

Mito shrugged in return. "I don't even know the plan, so….."

"Oi, I'm still here, you know!?" said Tsunade, irritated that she had been forgotten.

"Oh yes," said Mito calmly, "it was fun seeing again, my granddaughter, but it seems that our time has come to an end."

"You won't get away!" declared Tsunade as she made to run to stop her grandmother only to scream in pain as electricity shot out of the ground.

Mito chuckled when this happened. "You were wondering when I would used fuinjutsu? Well here it is!"

"H-how?" asked Tsunade through the pain.

Mito shrugged in response. "We were fighting in hand-to-hand combat, you know. That gives one plenty of opportunity to plant a seal on his or her opponent without him or her noticing."

Tsunade's eyes widened when she heard this.

"Every time you move, lighting will shock you until I am out of range of a certain area," said Mito and then turned to Obito, "and you, let's go. We've concluded our business here for the moment."

Obito raised an eyebrow. "And Naruto?"

Mito scoffed at that. "He can very well take care of himself. Now let's go." Obito shrugged and placed his left hand on Mito's right shoulder and the two disappeared in the same vortex that Obito had arrived in.

"Fuck…." That was the only thing that Tsunade could say about the situation at the moment.

* * *

><p>Naruto jumped down from Kurama's head to land next to Fu's downed form. He kneeled next to her to see major injuries to her body.<p>

**"Naruto,"** said Kurama from within Naruto's mind**, "Chomei has just informed of what has happened. It seems that our old friend Danzo found a way to forcefully transform Fu into her complete bijuu mode. Now since Fu has never done this and hadn't properly prepared her body for the stress from the massive amount of chakra, she's in critical condition. If she doesn't get any medical treatment…."**

Naruto merely picked up Fu bridal style before jumping back on top of Kurama's head. 'How far can you go away from me and still retain your form?' asked Naruto, still communicating through their mind link.

Kurama frowned. **"Not very far….."**

'Say just about outside the village?'

Kurama nodded. **"Yes, but why are-"**

'Nevermind that.' Naruto placed Fu down in front of Kushina and Fuka. "Kurama will take you out of the village," stated Naruto as he made to jump off.

"Wait," said Kushina, stopping Naruto, "what will you do?"

"There's something that I have to do before we leave," answered Naruto without turning around. He then jump off and Kurama took to running out of the village.

Naruto landed in the newly formed crater that was now present in the middle of the village just as the rest of the Konoha shinobi caught up and appeared the next moment.

"That wasn't very wise, Naruto," stated Kakashi as he stepped forward, "now I'm going to have to ask you to give up. You're surrounded." And indeed, all around Naruto, then entire population of Konoha shinobi were there save those that were currently escorting and guarding the civilians that were in the evacuation shelters.

Naruto looked around coldly, his rinnegan intensifying his gaze. Even the most hardened veterans like Kakashi and Guy shivered as a cold chill ran up their spine.

'Danzo…..I can't sense him,' thought Naruto, 'but no matter. I now have all the secrets to his operations. But for a parting gift….'

"Take this as a preview of what is to come," said Naruto loudly and darkly, "because the next time that I do come back, it won't be simply for this. I'll wipe you out of the face of the planet."

With that, Naruto actually flew up into the air until he was far enough to complete his jutsu.

'What is he doing?' wondered Kakashi. Guy, who was next to him, was actually looking both troubled and serious for once.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

Another bright light blinded everyone in the village temporarily before the true terror of the jutsu came.

* * *

><p>Mito actually looked in awe for once as she looked at what Naruto had done. Currently she was on the same cliff that Obito and Zetsu had been, with Obito standing next to her. "Amazing," she said, "so this is the power of the rinnegan….."<p>

"And that's not all of it," replied of Obito as he watched as well.

Mito glanced at him. "Just what are you doing here, anyways?"

Obito shrugged. "I was nearby and heard the commotion, so I figured I stop by and say hello."

Mito sighed before she started to walk away, Obito following her. "Let's go. It's time for me to be filled in as to who is involve and just what Naruto is planning."

* * *

><p>"Wow…." Fuka was speechless…again. That had been happening a lot in the past few hours.<p>

Kushina, who still had an unconscious Fu on her back, was also on the same state. But no one could blame them at the moment.

Naruto appeared behind them in an orange spark. "We need to go," he said simply as his chakra cloak disappeared.

Both Kushina Fuka simply nodded. Naruto then grabbed each by the one of their shoulders, and they disappeared in a dark flash as if they had never been there.

* * *

><p>"So this is it?" asked Mikoto as she stood on top of a building next to the Raikage. Mikoto, Yugito, and Bee had recently arrived in Kumo to prepare Kumo's army. Mikoto was currently gazing at said army, and she had to admit that she was impressed.<p>

The Raikage nodded. "Yes."

"I must say that you have prepared it fast," complimented Mikoto as she glanced at him momentarily before looking back at the army.

The Raikage nodded again. "We've been preparing for awhile. All that is left are the final preparations which are being completed at the moment."

Mikoto nodded, pleased. "Good."

"What shall I do about that invitation of the kage meeting that is being arranged by the Kazekage?" asked the Raikage.

"You're to accept it of course," stated Mikoto simply.

"It shall be done then," responded the Raikage.

Mikoto focused back to the army who was rushing to being prepared at the moment. And just with Kumo alone, the army was massive. Mikoto herself didn't know many shinobi there were in total, but she was sure she would get that info later. But to think that even Iwa, and maybe even Kiri, will join in…..

'No wonder Uzu fell,' thought Mikoto to herself. 'And yet they still managed to kill about half of the strike force….Konoha won't be that lucky though. I can guarantee that for sure.'

* * *

><p>"How is she doing?"<p>

Currently we find both Naruto and Mito in an old facility that Mito herself had used in the past. It was about 100 miles from Konoha, but of course Konoha wouldn't be pursuing them anytime soon. The others had simply gone to a nearby town to relax and buy supplies since there were none present since no one knew of this place's existence besides Mito so no one was present to restock on supplies. The sun was beginning to lower signifying that another day was ending was once more. Both uzumakis and the unconscious teen were in one of the many care rooms that were present in the facility.

Mito sighed as the green aura around her hands disappeared and retracted her hands back from examining Fu. "Extensive damage to her chakra coils," she began, "but of course that isn't surprising. Too much of the Nanabi's chakra was pumped out at the same time. Her chakra coils couldn't handle it. Her body though….that's worse. Damage to skin, bones, and let's not even get started about the mental pain that she must have suffered through."

Naruto frowned when he heard this.

Mito glanced at her relative. "Is she that important to you?" she asked him.

Naruto didn't respond for a few moments before nodding. "In the time that I have known her, yes."

Mito sighed. "It is expected for there to be casualties," she replied slowly. "If you can't-"

"I know that," interrupted Naruto, "I have known that this whole time. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to avoid that if I can help it."

Mito sighed again before walking to one of the windows that was present in the room. "She will be fine. It will take a while, but eventually she'll get better. But," she turned to look at Naruto, her face devoid of all emotions, "if you can't take handling the fact that people will die in this, then you-"

"I already told you that I knew that!" interrupted Naruto once again. "I just…..I don't know."

Mito stared silently at the troubled teen. Finally she spoke, "To feel like you do at the moment is to be human. It's comforting to know that you haven't completely lost yourself in doing this. But at the same time, be prepared to face the fact that you will lose loved ones. That's the fact in life."

Naruto didn't respond. He merely sighed before walking out the room.

* * *

><p>"Damn it to hell!"<p>

Kabuto sighed as he watched Tsunade rage from within the tent that was suppose to be acting as the temporary 'Hokage building.' Everywhere around the crater that was now Konoha, tents were the temporary home for all survivors until construction began which was still scheduled to start tomorrow.

"You're frustrated," began Kabuto calmly, totally the opposite of how Tsunade felt, "but you can't let that frustration consume you. There's an important even that's coming up, if you haven't forgotten?"

Tsunade scowled as she tried to calm herself. Once she felt that she had, she folded her arms on her desk. "Right now we are in no position for what's to come."

"You should just feel lucky that Naruto didn't finish this like he could have," retorted Kabuto.

"And that's what's bugging me!" exclaimed Tsunade, frustration starting to show once more. "He could have taken his revenge right then and there, so why didn't he?"

"Good question," agreed Kabuto, "but you shouldn't question it."

"And why the hell not?" asked Tsunade.

Kabuto shrugged. "Just be glad that it happened, no use in dwelling on it. Unless you really want it to happen?"

"I see your point…." muttered Tsunade.

"Good," said Kabuto. "Now, we have three days until the kage meeting is to take place. We should use this time to prepare and rest as much as possible. The real action hasn't even started yet."

Tsunade sighed. "I know, and that's the worse part about this. Things haven't even begun yet and look at where we are now?"

"Things aren't over yet. We still have a chance to win. We just have to play our cards right," responded Kabuto as he readjusted his glasses.

"I suppose so," said Tsunade with a chuckle before something came to her mind. "Naruto was also wearing the akatsuki uniform," recalled Tsunade.

At this Kabuto merely shook his head. "For that, I have no idea as to why. It could be anything. But the thing that matters the most right now is the kage meeting."

Tsunade then chuckled again. "Never thought that I would be in this position….having to team up with you."

Kabuto smirked. "Same here." But then the smirked disappeared. "And what of Danzo?"

Tsunade scowled at the name. "The bastard disappeared. But something tells me that we haven't seen the last of him yet."

"We should be prepared for anything in three days then," stated Kabuto.

Tsunade nodded her head. "Yes, we should…."

* * *

><p>'Do you think that I made the right choice?'<p>

**"I don't know, brat. But I didn't know that you cared for this girl this much…."**

'Yeah neither did I…..'

**"Well you should simply-"**

Naruto raised an eyebrow when he couldn't hear Kurama speak any more. He then noticed that he was no longer outside on the rooftop of the facility. Instead, it was the same position that he had found himself last time except instead of all black, it was all white now.

'What the hell is this now?' thought Naruto before he heard a voice.

"Uzumaki Naruto….it seems you're not the big bad villain that you're trying to portrait yourself as."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. It sounded familiar…..but where had he heard it before? "I don't know what you're talking about," responded Naruto, still looking around, "I never said I was a villain."

"Hmm….then what are you?"

Naruto shrugged at this. "I don't know, and I simply don't care. Want to classify me as the vengeful hero avenging his clan? Go ahead. Want to classify me as the villain taking revenge for what Konoha did to me? Go ahead. Something as trivial as that does not concern me."

"Interesting response….but why didn't you finish what you had started? Why did you leave? Was is it because of the girl?"

Naruto sighed. "I'm not going to lie….yes Fu was one of the main reasons. But I wasn't going to crush Konoha then…or at least I don't think I was. The excitement might have had clouded my judgement…."

"Why? Why didn't you finish it there?"

Naruto smirked as he looked around. "So you don't know everything apparently….whoever or whatever you are. But the answer to that is simply-I don't want to take any chances. I don't want to let a single survivor from Konoha left alive. Yes, I can destroy the building part of the village by myself as I just did. But not the villagers themselves. They will simply rebuild the village. But with the force that I'm building, there are no chances of escape. But the most important factor is irony."

"Irony?"

"Kumo, Iwa, Kiri-the forces that destroyed the Uzumaki clan. They are the very same forces that will take down Konoha as well. So yes, it is ironic. And that's the best part in all of this. To use the same force that wiped my clan to destroy Konoha….it's just to hilarious to pass up."

"…..I see. You are truly different from before, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto scowled as he began to look around again. "I've already answered your question, now answer mine."

"And what will that be?"

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Hmm…..yes I suppose you would be wondering about that."

Naruto's eyes widened as he recalled where he had heard the voice before-the dream he had had.

"You're the same person who told me how I had lost my path, aren't you?"

"So you do remember about that? Yes, it was me."

"Well?" said Naruto impatiently. "Are you going to tell who are you, or not?"

The being was silent for a few moments, before replying. "I suppose it's only appropriate for you to know, isn't it?"

"You got that right," responded Naruto.

"Very well then. I have been known by many names throughout the whole time I was alive. But the one you would most know me by is….."

Naruto's eyes widened as a figure finally became visible in front of him. Said figure was wearing a cloak with a high collar except that it didn't cover his face and it revealed six magatama, the same ones that he himself possesses when using Kurama chakra. The man's hair had two distinct horn like pieces of hair sticking out in the front and carried a shakujo, a ringed staff, on his right hand. But the most shocking part was the man's eyes-he possessed the rinnegan.

"You may call me the Rikudo Sennin."

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Another chapter out again. That makes two this week which means that I didn't get lazy….that's a shocker for those that know me personally but whatever.**

**So before I rap it up, I'm here to state one important thing which I had stated before but seems that some have forgotten-yes, Naruto is the MAIN CHARACTER but he's not the ONLY character. There are a lot of characters and everything I write has some impact to the plot later on, some more significant than others. Yes there will be some chapters in the future where it might focus on another character besides Naruto. But in my opinion that just makes a better story. You can't just simply be focused on one character the whole time. As long as the main character is also doing something to affect the plot, it's alright if you shift your focus for one simple chapter. But then again, that's just my opinion. Everyone of you is entitled to your own, but I just thought I should make this clear.**

**Also as to why Naruto doesn't simply march in there and destroy Konoha-the answer is irony. The fact that the three hidden villages that destroyed Uzu are also going to destroy Konoha, well I just find it hilarious and awesome enough that it simply must happen and that I must write it like that. That was the plan from day one after all. And oops, I guess I just let you know that Kiri will join too….**

**But more deaths in this chapter as well as Naruto doing the same thing that Pain did. And now the Rikudo Sennin shows up…..I ain't saying shit about that.**

**Well that's it for me. Review and tell me what you thought!**

**Till next time!**


	33. Successor

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 32: Successor<strong>

Silence.

Within….wherever the hell Naruto was at the moment, there was only silence. It was unsettling to be honest. But it wasn't like that because of the silence, although the silence did add an even more tense atmosphere than what it already was at the moment to begin with.

Naruto could only stare at the man in front of him that had just proclaimed himself to be the Rikudo Sennin. Unbelievable? Perhaps, but considering everything that Naruto had seen up to now, it didn't seem that laughable to think that this was in fact the actual and the only Rikudo Sennin. It would explain a lot of things in reality, but this also raised many other questions.

The self proclaimed, or for the moment at least, Rikudo Sennin sighed as he could very well know what his young descendant was thinking at the moment. And he couldn't really blame him. But at the same time, it was a truth that he would have to deal with.

"Should we continue where we left off?" he asked calmly.

Naruto shook his head to try to clear his mind and come to terms as to what was happening at the moment. "Just….what is this?" That was the only thing that Naruto wanted to know at the moment. Just why was this happening? What was the purpose of all of this?

"Hmm…." the Sennin hummed quietly at that. "I suppose that that is the heart of everything in this."

Naruto frowned, already noticing that he was dodging the question, something that everyone that seemed to know something about the answer to that question did.

"You're not answering my question," stated Naruto.

"I suppose I'm not," agreed the Sennin, "but have you already forgotten what Uzumaki Mito said to you? No, you haven't. It all comes down to frustration, doesn't it? The fact that everyone else seems to know the answer about something that concerns you, but you yourself don't know it."

Naruto didn't respond, but that said more than words could. The Sennin had hit dead on in his observation. Yes, he was frustrated. But who wouldn't? It obviously dealt with him, so he had every right to know, but everyone else seemed to think otherwise. Bastards….

"But is it really that important to you?" continued the Sennin. "I would have thought that you would simply wouldn't care and just simply continue on your path."

"It's not as easy as that," replied Naruto, "especially when it all sounds like I'm simply some puppet for someone out there. I've had it with being used and being kept in the dark about things. Now that I have all this power….things are different. I will never be someone's tool for his grand scheme."

The Sennin chuckled. "It's not as simple as that, young Uzumaki. Me and you, we're both simply human at the end. We do have a power that no one else has, but at the end of things, we are both simply men."

'I don't like the sound of this so far,' thought Naruto as he stared at the Sennin. "So if you're not behind all of this, then who is?"

"Hmm…."

Naruto scowled as the Sennin hummed once again. He was beginning to see that he did that when he wasn't going to answer something. "You're not going to tell me, are you?" asked Naruto but said it like a statement.

The Sennin shrugged. "I never said that. You simply jumped into conclusions."

"Based on the fact that no one just gives me a simple answer," retorted Naruto. "Is it hard to just simply say it? That saves so much trouble."

"True, but there's no profit to be gain in something that you received without earning it first," responded the Sennin, saying basically the same thing that Mito had said before. "But there is a reason why I have called you here instead of talking about pointless matters," said the Sennin.

'Pointless matters?' thought Naruto. "Well, what is it then?" he asked out loud.

The Rikudo Sennin turned around and began to walk, motioning for Naruto to do the same. Said blond began to follow, seeing no other alternative at the moment. Both rinnegan wielders walked for a few minutes, before the Sennin spoke. "Do you know the history of your clan?" he asked.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in response, silently asking what he meant.

"Do you know where your clan originated from?" he asked again, restating his question.

"I know for a fact that we're related to the Senju," began Naruto, "and that the Uzumakis split from the Senju because they were tired of all the fighting between the Senju and the Uchiha. But beyond that, no I do not," he finished.

The Sennin nodded. "I see. Well all that information is correct. But the most important part of all of that is as to why the fighting between the Senju and the Uchiha has occurred."

"I see…." muttered Naruto. "Something tells me that you have something to do with that," stated Naruto as he glanced at the Sennin.

The Sennin in turned sighed. "Yes. I am in part responsible for all the bloodshed that has occurred within my descendants."

"Descendants," repeated Naruto quietly before it hit him. "So you mean that the Uchiha and Senju are related because they share one common ancestor which is you?"

The Sennin nodded again. "Yes. And by definition, so are you related to them and are my descendant as well. That's the reason why you are capable to possess the rinnegan as well as handle the chakra of that of a bijuu with ease."

So Konoha was basically the home of the descendants of the legendary Rikudo Sennin, huh? Or was the home, save for that of one Senju member.

"How did this all began?" asked Naruto.

"It was by my own mistake and weakness," answered the Sennin. He then continued. "I had two sons. The older one was born with my eyes and my spiritual energy while the younger was born with my body and physical energy."

'The Senju and the Uchiha,' thought Naruto, understanding immediately. It was obvious that the oldest son was the first Uchiha or whatever they called themselves back then. And the Senju obviously originated from the younger son and the Uzumaki as well.

"The older of my sons had been alive while the Juubi had been freed and war was still present like a normal occurrence. This caused him to believe that power would be the only way to secure peace. My younger son did not experience any of this, however, so he grew up kind of naive, even I have to admit to that. He believed that love was the way to secure peace. Of course my time to pass on to the afterlife grew near, and I had to choose who would become my successor. And that's where all of this began….."

"Whoever you didn't choose felt bitter about it and tried to take the other one out, am I correct?" guessed Naruto.

The Sennin turned to Naruto with a surprised look on his face which brought a great deal amount of satisfaction upon Naruto. Hey, he just surprised the Rikudo Sennin. That earned him a pat on the back.

"Yes," confirmed the Sennin, his face becoming normal, "although it wasn't entirely my decision."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

"Tell me, which would you say is a much better path to peace-love or power?" asked the Sennin back.

Naruto frowned at that. Peace wasn't something that concerned him at all. But still, if he would choose one, which would it be?

The Sennin merely gazed at Naruto silently as he pondered the question, wanting to hear his answer.

"You know," began Naruto, "you probably already know this, but peace is not something that I'm concerned with."

The Sennin didn't reply to that. Why? We'll save that for later….

"But if I were to choose one, I wouldn't. I would choose both."

The Sennin stopped walking when he heard that. "Oh?" he said as he turned towards Naruto. "And why would you do that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Because in this scenario, one needs the other to work. Yes, having love is good and all, but if you don't have power to back it up? No one will listen to you. The same if you simply have power. People would fear you and try to take you out, which would simply destroy any chance for peace. But if both coexist and find a middle ground…then yes, it is possible."

'Yes,' thought the Sennin, pleased, 'he is my….' "You're right," stated the Sennin and began to walk again, Naruto following him again as well. "That was my plan as well. To name them both my successors and have them share the responsibility. But of course, there was one factor that I had not thought about."

"Juubi," stated Naruto.

The Sennin nodded again, not showing surprise this time. "Yes. I don't know how it did it, but it somehow gained a conscious after I sealed it within me."

"What do you mean 'gained a conscious?'" asked Naruto.

"Originally the Juubi was simply a beast with immense power. It had no conscious, no thoughts, nothing whatsoever. It just was. But after I became it's jinchuriki, it started to learn how to think. To plan things and to not be a simple beast."

Naruto stayed silent, listening intently.

"I suppose it somehow learned to tap into mind," continued the Sennin, "but the point is that with it's new found knowledge, it planned a way for it to be free someday. It seemed that it knew that I was planning on separating it into pieces. I, of course, did it. But….it left some of it's power inside me. I don't know how it managed to do that, but it did. And with that little power it managed to influence me into choosing my younger son as my successor. By the time I knew of it, it was simply too late. Then my older son challenged his brother and, their descendants continued, and so on. Until the history that you know today has happened."

Silence followed once more as they continued to walk. Naruto processed everything that he had learned. So the Juubi, the same beast that he had sealed within himself, was behind the bloodiest rivalry in the history of the Shinobi World.

Naruto's eyes widened. "So I was it's plan…."

The Sennin nodded. "Yes. By that one action, everything else became possible."

Naruto scowled. So this was someone's or something's plan after all. All of this-

"Of course, that's only part of the scenario," said the Sennin.

"What do you mean part?" asked Naruto.

"The Juubi does not decide fate. Yes, it is back. But that's only because of the path you have chosen. If you hadn't chosen this, someone else would have simply revived it."

'Tobi,' thought Naruto, remembering what his plan had been. "So then the rivalry itself is it's plan. It was betting on the hatred that it brought along and the temptation to use it's power," realized Naruto.

"Now you're getting it," said the Sennin.

Naruto chuckled. "That's one tricky beast…"

"Hmm…yes it is. But this brings us to the last part of this discussion," said the Sennin and stopped walking.

Naruto stopped next to him.

The Sennin merely turned to look at Naruto directly in the eyes. "Uzumaki Naruto….you are now my true successor."

* * *

><p>"We finally made it…." muttered Suigetsu as the group consisting of himself, Sasuke, Roshi, Karin, and Han reached Iwa. Of course they were currently being escorted by Iwa shinobi, but at least they were there.<p>

Suigetsu glanced at Karin to see her still embarrassed look that she wore for the past day. So she finally did Sasuke, something that she had wanted since she first met the said shinobi. Why should she be embarrassed? Oh yeah, maybe because he saw her breasts?

Suigetsu then glanced at Sasuke who was walking in the front of the group. Now as to why Sasuke actually had sex with Karin when he didn't seem to have any interest in said girl….well Suigetsu was still trying to figure that one out.

As the main office building to where the office of the Tsuchikage was located in came closer and closer, Suigetsu held back a grimace. He was never a big fan of Iwa. Hell, anyone from Kiri would agree with him and the feeling was vice versa. Iwa and Kiri had a long history of bloodshed between them. His only consolation was the fact that the current Tsuchikage didn't know he was being screwed over.

Now that brought a smirk on Suigetsu's face. 'Yes, I can't wait to see the look on that old fart's face when he realizes that he's the fool here….'

* * *

><p>"Kiri…." muttered Utakata as he, Hotaru, and Yagura passed the sign that said <strong>WELCOME TO KIRI<strong>.

'Not very welcomed like,' thought Hotaru with a sweatdrop as she looked at the heavy mist.

"This place hasn't changed one bit," commented Yagura as they continued to walk.

"So this is where you're from, sensei?" asked Hotaru as she looked at Utakata who sighed.

"Unfortunately," he answered.

Hotaru frowned when she heard this. She of course didn't know a thing about Utakata's past since he refused to say a single thing about it. But what could be so bad as for him to hate his birth place? If only she knew that he wasn't the worst one, if only….

Both Utakata and Yagura stopped walking which in turn made Hotaru stop as well, except with a confused look on her face. But then it became clear to her as to why they had stopped when anbu members surrounded them.

'Defenses haven't changed,' noted Yagura, 'so they still use the mist as a way to detect any possible intruders.'

"Yagura," said a clearly female voice.

The two jinchuriki and blonde girl turned to look forward as a beautiful auburn haired woman wearing a blue dress that reached just below her knees, a mesh armor underneath, and a blue skirt appeared within in the mist.

Yagura smirked as he looked at the woman, recognizing her. "So you became the Godaime Mizukage, Mei."

Terumi Mei, who was followed by two more anbu behind her, frowned as she recognized Yagura as well. She had been one of the shinobi that had helped in finally taking Yagura down after all. "You're suppose to be dead," she stated. "And why are you wearing the uniform of the akatsuki?"

Yagura sighed. "It's a long story. But trust me when I say that I am no longer being controlled. The man who was responsible for that is dead already."

Mei merely kept the frown on her face and glanced at both Utakata and Hotaru. Her one visible eye that was not covered by her long auburn hair narrowed as she recognized Utakata. "You're…."

Utakata merely nodded.

"As I said," began Yagura, making Mei face him again, "it's a long story. I suggest we get to the village before explaining."

Mei kept an impassive look before nodding. "Alright. But no tricks or I'll kill you….again."

Yagura chuckled as he stepped forward, both Utakata and Hotaru following. "I'm not that stupid, you know."

With that, they made their way towards Kiri.

* * *

><p>Danzo couldn't help but to let out the annoyed look that was currently present on his face. It shouldn't be surprising as to why exactly he was annoyed at the moment.<p>

'To think I've lost the nanabi now,' he thought bitterly. 'Uzumaki Naruto….you're proven to be even more of a nuisance than I anticipated. But still, for you to manage to control the power of the Kyuubi to the degree that you have…and you possess the rinnegan as well. Tch, dammit! If only Tsunade hadn't gotten in the way, things could have been so much easier. But I must not deny the fact that the boy is beyond my level now. So, how to control him….?'

"Danzo-sama…."

Danzo turned to look at one of his most trusted and strongest member in his Root division, Fuu. "What is it?"

"Shall we make camp here, Danzo-sama?"

Danzo merely looked up at the sky to see that it was indeed dark already, and it was going to get darker still. He looked around the area and noticed that it was decent enough for a camp. They had also traveled a good enough distance from Konoha, well for the moment at least.

"Yes," answered Danzo.

Fuu nodded and began to order the rest of the members to start getting ready to set up camp for the night.

He had traveled a good enough distance for the day rationalized Danzo. After all, he had three days before the kage meeting in the Land of Iron.

And when the meeting came, he would make sure to show that he was the appropriate leader for Konoha. Hell, the appropriate leader for all the shinobi villages!

* * *

><p>"Are you sure we should be meeting like this?"<p>

Anko shook her head as she looked around. "No, I'm not. But this is the best time right now."

Neji sighed as he leaned back on a tree. "I take it you're also wondering as to what we do now, right?"

Anko nodded. "Yeah. Since Danzo is out of the village, or what's left of it, and the fact that it should be obvious to Tsunade that Fu really is on Naruto's side, what the hell are we suppose to do now?"

"I say we wait," stated Neji. "When the time comes, Naruto will contact us. We were told to stay low after the initial preparations, remember?"

"I know that," snapped Anko, "but with Fu gone the plan has changed. Hell, I don't know if there is a plan for us now!"

"Keep quiet," ordered Neji, "but like I said, we were told to stay low. And that's what we should do."

Anko sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that. It would be bad if we did something that jeopardized the gaki's-" Anko stopped abruptly and threw a kunai into a nearby bush.

"What was that for!" said Neji.

Anko narrowed her eyes as she began to walk towards the bush. "I thought I heard something….."

Just as she was about to reach it, sounds of footsteps nearby alerted them both.

"A patrol," stated Neji, "we need to get out of here, now!"

Anko nodded and the two headed back towards their respective tents that were their temporary homes, both quickly and quietly.

After a few minutes of silence, one Hyuuga Hinata stepped out of the bush that Anko had thrown the kunai to, a shocked look on her face. 'Naruto-kun….'

* * *

><p>"You have got to be kidding me."<p>

The Sennin shook his head. "I kid you not."

Naruto could only stare at the creator of the shinobi world, flabbergasted. "And just what do you mean by your successor?"

"It is what it says," he replied, "you are now my true chosen successor. Both of my sons lacked something needed in order for me to simply choose one of them, and not both of them. And you have shown that you have what it is required."

"I already told you," began Naruto, "I'm not interested in peace."

The Sennin chuckled. "That may be true, but you forget that peace can be created through many different methods."

That caused Naruto to remember Nagato. Yes, the man was slightly delusional at thinking that he was a god, but the fact of the matter was that he was also trying to bring peace although he was simply being used for Tobi's purpose. And there was Tobi as well. Another delusional person, except he was even more delusional than Nagato. Trying to create a dream world to just simply bring back one girl? Naruto could understand the fact that Tobi would feel bad at losing the girl that he loved, but to simply go to that extent? Naruto wasn't trying to be hypocritical either. He knew what he himself was planning, but he wasn't going to destroy the whole world for what Konoha did. Or at least, not every single person. There were still places like Kumo and Iwa...

"I see you understand what I'm trying to say," continued the Sennin, "this whole chain of hatred that was brought about my choosing my younger son was Juubi's backup plan. It knew that someone, somehow would revive it. It didn't care who it was, just that it happened."

"Then why hasn't it tried to get out from me yet?" asked Naruto.

"Because it's actually interested in what you're doing," answered the Sennin. "Also as to who you are."

'Successor,' thought Naruto.

The Sennin then placed his left hand on Naruto's right shoulder. "I hereby officially declare you as my successor, Uzumaki Naruto.."

Naruto then felt a sudden rush of power and everything went blank. The last thing he heard was:

"You are now the Nidaime Rikudo Sennin."

* * *

><p>Within one of Orochimaru's old underground laboratories, Kabuto was currently smirking as two recently woken up tied up Iwa shinobi cowered in front of him. Literarily.<p>

"Just what do you want from us?" asked one of them.

Kabuto merely smeared some blood on a scroll and brought his hands up and started to form handseals. "From you? It's simple. All that it is required from you two are to be sacrifices. Nothing more."

The other Iwa shinobi finally noticed the seal designs that were around him and his partner. 'What is this!' That was the last thought that he had, as he and the other shinobi were covered by both dust and ash.

Once the procedure was done and both Iwa shinobi were completely covered by the dust and ash, Kabuto merely smirked and began to laugh as he gazed at the now two revived shinobi in front of him.

'Yes, with these two, not even Naruto-kun will stop me...'

* * *

><p>When Naruto opened his eyes, he came face to face with his mother's wide eyed ones.<p>

"Where am I?"

"You're inside a bedroom in the house owned by Mito-sama," answered Kushina slowly, as if she couldn't believe what was happening.

Naruto stood up from her lap and from the king sized bed as well to stretch.

"What happened?" asked Kushina.

Naruto paused. "What do you mean?"

"When we came back from getting supplies in the nearby village, we found you passed out on the roof, and now this…." answered Kushina.

Naruto frowned. Yes, he could understand the passed out part. It had happened when he had talked to the Juubi as well, but what did she mean by 'this?'

Naruto then noticed his reflection on the mirror in front of him and he couldn't recognized the person that stared back. Gone was his blond hair. Now he had silver hair with the same two horned shaped pieces of hair sticking out just like the Sennin! His whiskers had not disappeared thankfully, but now he had bluish-greenish eyes!

'What the hell….?' That was the only thing that Naruto could think at the moment.

"Naruto-kun...?" Kushina said slowly, as if testing the name out.

Naruto for his part was touching both of his 'horns,' trying to see if they were real. And they were! 'Just what the hell did he do to me?' thought Naruto, frustrated.

"Naruto-kun...just what happened?"

Naruto sighed and faced his worried mother. "I don't know in what other way or form to say this so I'll simply say it-apparently I am now the successor of the Rikudo Sennin."

Silence.

"What...?"

Chuckling from the doorway made the two uzumaki to turn to it to see a chuckling Mito who was still in her very elaborate kimono. "So it has happened already, huh?"

"You knew?" asked Naruto.

Mito nodded. "Yes, I did. I didn't think it was going to happen this soon though. But it's still a welcome outcome, wouldn't you agree?"

Naruto pointed to his face. "Just what has happened to me?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" replied Mito, only to notice that Naruto's posture had not changed. 'Too shock to think right now, is he? But I can't blame him.' "Your DNA has mixed with that of the the Sennin, and the end result is, well your new look."

'So that's what he did to me,' realized Naruto, 'and that's why a felt a rush of power as well.'

Mito then walked up to the closet on the other side of the room from the door. As Mito opened it up, both Naruto and Kushina saw a a greish-blackish armor hanging. "This will be your new uniform," declared Mito with a smirk.

Naruto walked up next to Mito and proceeded to take out his new armor and examine it. He had to say it, he liked it.

**"Ah, yes, does outfits from the past, huh? I have to say that I liked the style better back then."**

'You there now, you fox?'

**"Yeah, here I am, unfortunately. And I hear that you just had a talk with the old man?"**

'I did...'

**"And what did he say?"**

'Later, not now.'

"I like it," stated Naruto.

Mito nodded and then began to walk out. "Get some rest then."

Kushina saw the door close and then turned to see her altered son still examining the armor. "So it's true then...the Rikudo Sennin..."

Naruto merely nodded. "Yes. He said so himself."

Kushina looked at her son curiously. "And? What will you do now that you have this?"

"The plan," answered Naruto simply. He then recalled what the Rikudo Sennin had told him- _"Peace can be created through many different methods." _Naruto frowned as he recalled that. 'Just what does he expect me to do now?'

* * *

><p>Mito walked slowly to her room, eyes closed, and her mind actually at peace at the moment.<p>

"So...did it happen?"

Mito cracked one eye open and spotted Obito leaning on one of the walls of the hallway. "Yes, it has."

Obito nodded and chuckled. "To think that that brat..."

"How do you know of this?" asked Mito with a raised eyebrow.

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" responded Obito. "Madara told me."

Mito looked at one of the last surviving uchiha with unrestrained curiosity. "Just what exactly did Madara tell you about all of this?"

"All of it," answered Obito as he began to walk away. "I've known all along just what exactly that guy is meant to do. Of course, I haven't started to believe it till recently."

Mito merely stared at Obito's retreating back.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**So this brings me up to three chapters this week. Man, I'm an overachiever this week. But I guess it has to do with the fact that I really do enjoy writing this story. Too bad I'm not getting paid….**

**But damn, a lot has happened in just this one night and short chapter as well. A lot of things. And now Naruto has changed thanks to the Rikudo Sennin giving Naruto some of his own power. Really, tell me what you think of it. Was it too much or not? And if you want a better picture of what he looks like now, just look at the image for this story but add the whiskers and there's the new Naruto. And yes, that will also be his new outfit in the future.**

**Oh and someone, I don't know who it was as the person doesn't have an account, asked me if my name is Dahvie Vanity….now I don't know if it was meant as a joke or not, but whoever left that review and if you are reading this at the moment, I have to say that I'm sorry pal or gal, but my real name is no where near that. And no, I will not give you or anyone else my real name. That is simply irrelevant and none of you probably care either.**

**And once more, that's it for me. Tell me what you thought of it and review!**

**Till next time!**


	34. Day 1: Of Politics and Alliances

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, Hologram, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 33:<br>Day One: Of Politics and Alliances**

Sasuke stared impassively at the very short man in front of him at the moment. If he were honest with himself, this was one of the last places that Sasuke wanted to be at the moment. Iwa…not one of his most favorite villages. Not that he had much experience with other shinobi villages to begin with. Besides Oto and Konoha, there wasn't any other village that he had much experience with or that he had been to or pretty much knew anything about. Well there was Suna, but that was simply because of the invasion they had attempted to pull off almost three years ago. Not that he cared much about other shinobi villages to begin with either.

No, Sasuke would very much like to be in Konoha, pretty much destroying the place. No, destroy wasn't the right word. More like erase. Yes, erase Konoha to the point where no one would ever remember it afterwards. Destroy every single building and kill every single person residing within, both shinobi and civilian. Especially the civilian. They were pretty much the worst of the two in Sasuke's opinion. They were just simply arrogant, but the worst part was that they were arrogant and for no freaking reason! They were all weak, ignorant fools that were simply lucky enough to be born in in a prosperous village such as Konoha.

Some of the shinobi were arrogant, but they at least had some power…..ish. That didn't mean that he was going to spare them of course.

"So," began Onoki, making Sasuke come out of his train of thoughts, "you're here a lot sooner than I thought. It hasn't even been a week yet."

That was true. Things were going a lot faster than Sasuke thought they would, not that he didn't mind. With all the complicated plans that Naruto made up, Sasuke would have thought that they would take longer than it was so far, but it didn't seem that way so far. 'I wonder…just how long will it be before this is all over?' thought Sasuke to himself.

"You're right," responded Sasuke, "but I thought you would be please to know that it is proceeding fast."

Onoki shrugged. "I didn't say that I wasn't, but it's still surprising."

Sasuke didn't respond to that. Or more like, he didn't really care enough to. He knew what would become of this place afterwards anyways, so there wasn't much reason to care about it in the first place.

"So," continued Onoki, seeing that Sasuke wasn't going to respond any time soon, "where is that…woman?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that. Could the old man in front of him be sexually interested in his mother as well? He already knew Suigetsu was, but he didn't really care too much about that. He knew his mother would never become interested in the swordsman.

Said swordsman standing behind Sasuke suddenly felt a sudden wave of disappointment come upon the pit of his stomach. Why? He wasn't sure.

Sasuke then thought of his blond knucklehead teammate, or past knucklehead. Something was going on between Naruto and his mother. That much he was sure. Sasuke wasn't stupid. He would admit that he wasn't the smartest one when it came to women, but he knew a few things. Now as to what exactly was going on….Sasuke wasn't sure. Did he care? Now that was much more complicated. But Sasuke knew for a fact that even if he tried to stop whatever was going on…it wouldn't end well for him. His mother was scary and had the power to back it up. He knew that for a fact.

"She's busy with other matters," responded Sasuke simply with a monotone that resembled that of his older brother.

Onoki's eyebrows twitched. 'He's not much of a talker alright,' thought Onoki.

"But what's important is for you to ready your army as soon as possible," continued Sasuke.

Onoki snorted at that. "I will be ready, that I assure you. But are you sure that Kumo and Kiri will do the same? Especially Kiri. That village is not what it use to be, after all."

"You don't have to worry about that," retorted Sasuke, "just worry about you pulling your own weight."

'This brat,' thought a seething Onoki. 'How dare does he think that he can order me around like I'm one of his underlings?'

Sasuke mentally smirked. He could tell that Onoki did not like being treated like being ordered around. People from his generation must be like that realized Sasuke. But as to why, well that's another thing that Sasuke just simply didn't give a fuck about.

"Also, these two will stay here to monitor your progress," said Sasuke as he looked back towards both Roshi and Han.

Said Iwa shinobis both stepped forward with an emotionless look on both of their faces. Well Roshi's was, but no one can tell if Han's was because his face was covered up.

Onoki's annoyance died down and his excitement grew as both jinchuriki stepped forward. The same giddy feeling that he had when he had seen both Roshi and Han stepped into his office returned. And why shouldn't he feel giddy? He had both his jinchuriki back and their respective bijuus as well. Iwa was once again at full power. Teaming up with the Uchihas didn't seem to be that bad, except putting up with their arrogance. But that was a small price to pay in Onoki's opinion.

Although there was one thing that was bothering Onoki since Sasuke and the rest had stepped into his office. And what was that? It was simple-they were all wearing the akatsuki uniform. So that raised an interesting question-what the hell happened?

"If you don't mind me asking," began Onoki, deciding to question what was bothering him, "just why exactly are you all wearing the uniform of the akatsuki?"

Karin readjusted her glasses in the background. 'About time he asked that,' she thought to herself. She was feeling a lot less embarrassed about what had happened two nights ago. She was still confused about it. And why shouldn't she be? Sasuke never showed any real interest in her before, even she knew that. So for him to do what he did all of a sudden….

A blush appeared on her face full force. This wasn't the time to be thinking about such things dammit! Less then be embarrassed at the moment!

"That's simple," said Sasuke, "akatsuki is gone."

"What do you mean 'gone?'" questioned Onoki.

Sasuke sighed. "Exactly as it says. It's no more. All of it's members are now killed." 'Even Itachi….' "As to why we're wearing the uniform…well that's irrelevant."

Onoki scowled mentally, but something good did happen apparently. 'Now that's good news,' thought Onoki. 'That bloody organization if finally gone….'

"You're also not to do anything about Ame," stated Sasuke, continuing the conversation, wanting to finish it as soon as possible.

"Oh?" said Onoki with a raised eyebrow. "And why should I?"

Remembering what Mikoto had told him, Sasuke responded simply, "If you do, then the deal we have about us joining your village is done for."

Onoki frowned at that. Yes, that would be a wasted opportunity. Was Ame worth it? Or not? Hmm…

'No matter,' thought Onoki, 'when Konoha is gone, I'll simply make sure to take as much of it's territory as soon as possible. But still, why would they care so much about Ame?'

"Fine," finally answered Onoki, "I won't attack Ame." 'For now at least…'

Sasuke nodded. "Good."

Sasuke then proceeded to walk out of the office, both Suigetsu and Karin, but stopped in front of the door. He glanced back at the old Tsuchikage. "And one last thing-you're to accept that invitation to the Kage Meeting sent by the Kazekage."

'So they know about that too, do they?' thought Onoki. 'But I shouldn't be surprised.'

Sasuke then continued to make his way out of Onoki's office, not waiting for a response, Suigetsu and Karin following.

Onoki turned to look at both Roshi and Han who had been silent throughout the whole conversation. "Now, would you two mind explaining as to what exactly has happened?"

Both Roshi and Han scowled mentally. They both had no desire to have anything to do with the Sandaime Tsuchikage, but they realized that it was inevitable.

'Now, what to tell him….?' thought Roshi.

**"I know exactly what you should say…."**

Roshi couldn't help but to smirk mentally as the Yonbi began to explain to him as to what he should say.

* * *

><p>"So we're finally getting out of here right, Sasuke?"<p>

Sasuke merely nodded to Suigetsu's question. The three former residents of Oto were currently making their way out of the village at a moderate pace. About a mile out of the village, a vibration within Sasuke's akatsuki cloak stopped him on his tracks. Both Suigetsu and Karin stopped as well, confusion on their face.

"Oi, why did we stop?" asked Suigetsu.

Sasuke didn't respond to him. He merely reached into his right pocket and pulled out some sort of disc, which was the source of the vibration. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. 'Now, what is this?' he asked himself.

**"Hello Sasuke-chan!"**

Sasuke's eyebrows twitched as he recognized the voice even though he couldn't well make out who the person was that had suddenly appeared on the disc thingy. Suigetsu for his part fell into a laughing fit, while Karin was much more controlled, but a few giggles did escape.

"Mom?" said Sasuke, a little irritation on his voice. "What is this thing?"

**"Well, to simply simplify it, it's a communication device. But that's beside the point right now."**

"And just how did this thing get into my pocket in the first place?" asked Sasuke.

The hologram of Mikoto waved her hand. **"Oh, that. I simply put it in your pocket before you left."**

'How the hell did she manage to do that?' wondered Sasuke, before shaking the question away. "Anyways, you will be happy to know that the Tsuchikage has been informed on what he needs to do."

**"Good. It wouldn't do us any good if that fossil decided to act on his own. I take it that you also told him that he needs to be at the kage meeting?"**

Sasuke nodded, remembering the last thing that she had told him before they had parted. "Yes."

**"Alright then. Now that that is out of the way, rendezvous with me in Kumo. Till then, Sasu-chan!"**

Sasuke scowled as the image of his mother on the disc disappeared. She just had to give him pet names. He wasn't eight no more, dammit!

"Sooooo…..Sasu-chan, is it?"

Sasuke really considered using **Amaterasu **on Suigetsu at that moment, damn the consequences.

* * *

><p>In Kiri, things were going a lot differently at the moment.<p>

"Fucking bitch! I swear, when I see her, I'm going to fuck her up!"

Yagura merely stared at his 'partner' in amusement as he continued to rant about what he was going to do to Mei once he saw her again. Hotaru was blushing in embarrassment at some of the words that her sensei was saying at the moment.

The two jinchuriki and heiress of the Tsuchigumo clan currently found themselves in a cell in one of the, if not the most, secured prison in Kiri. And that is the reason as to why we currently see a very pissed of Utakata.

"This is exactly why I didn't want to return to this damned village," continued Utakata.

Yagura sighed. "Look, I know you don't like this. Hell, I don't! But it's for security measures."

Utakata scowled. "Like I care about what happens to this place…."

"I'm so glad you think so positive of us," said Mei sarcastically as she appeared outside the cell, followed by anbu and some guy with a patch on his right eye.

"Oi, let us go!" exclaimed Utakata as he made his way to touch the bars.

Before either Yagura or Hotaru could warn him, Utakata was electrified as soon as he came within a foot close to the cell bars.

'Forgot about that,' thought Utakata bitterly as he stepped back.

"Mei," began Yagura, more calmly unlike Utakata, making said woman turn to look at him, "I understand as to why you're doing this, but let me tell you that this is really pointless." And he wasn't talking about just the bars. He and Utakata already knew about the seals that prevented them from using both their normal chakra and that of their bijuus.

Mei placed her right hand on her hips. "I'll be the judge of that," she retorted. "After all, you two aren't the most well trusted people in Kiri." She then directed her gaze towards Hotaru. "As for her….well I don't really know who she is, but she's apparently allied with you, so that makes her untrustworthy as well."

'I'm not untrustworthy!' thought Hotaru, but decided not to voice it. She could tell that this Mei woman was strong. She was a Kage, so she wouldn't stand a chance against the auburn haired woman.

"So?" asked Yagura, bringing Mei's attention back to him. "Just how exactly do you want us to prove to you that we are not being controlled by anyone?"

Mei merely tilted her head towards the direction of the only un-anbu person that was behind her. "Ao," she said simply.

The man with an eye patch on his right eye, now identified as Ao, nodded his head. _"Byakugan!"_

Both Yagura's and Utakata's eyes widened partially when they saw what they assumed to be the bloodline from the Hyuuga clan from Konoha.

'So he was the one who undid my genjutsu,' thought Yagura, now remembering the man.

'The byakugan,' thought Utakata. 'How in bloody hells does Kiri possess that?'

Hotaru for her part didn't recognize the byakugan, so she didn't make too much of a fuss about it. She was however, a bit disgusted as the veins appeared around Ao's right eye.

"I see…." muttered Yagura, understanding what Mei was doing.

**"This was how she freed us last time…before she killed you of course."**

Yagura chuckled mentally at the reminder. Of course, it hadn't been just Mei that brought him down. It was the whole rebellion combine. She did however, deliver the last blow. Not that he didn't mind. It wasn't like he had wanted to live. Not after all that he had done.

After a minute or so, Ao deactivated his byakugan and turned towards an expecting Mei. "They're clear, Mizukage-sama. Although…."

"What?" asked Mei, slightly irritated.

Ao leaned in to whisper to Mei. "There's something on that girl's back. It's some sort of jutsu that's implanted into her, although I've never seen anything like it," whispered Ao.

"I see…." muttered Mei, before facing the two jinchuriki and the blonde girl. "It seems that none of you are placed under genjutsu or something of the sort."

"Told you…" muttered Utakata making Mei's eyebrows twitch in slight annoyance.

"But you," continued Mei, pointing at Hotaru, "what exactly is it that you have on your back?"

Hotaru's face turned into a mixture of both surprise and fear at that. 'How did she find out?' thought Hotaru, alarmed. 'Is it because of whatever that Ao guy did?'

"Answer me," stated Mei coldly, making Hotaru flinch.

'So this girl is hiding something,' thought Yagura. He then glanced at an impassive looking Utakata. 'I wonder if he knows what it is?'

"It's a kinjutsu," answered Hotaru softly, seeing no other alternatives then to just simply tell the truth.

'A forbidden technique?' thought Mei incredulously. 'How does this girl….?'

'And here I thought she was just simply an ordinary girl,' thought Yagura.

Isobu snorted at that within Yagura's mind. **"Anyone involved with a jinchuriki is far from normal. I thought you would know that by now."**

'Yeah, guess I forgot….'

Utakata remained silent, the same impassive look on his face.

"Tell me girl," began Mei, the same cold tone in her voice, "just how exactly do you have a kinjutsu in your possession?"

"It's from my clan," began Hotaru, "the tsuchigumo clan."

Realization hit Mei. She had of course heard of the now nearly extinct clan. It had once been powerful during the Third Shinobi War because of the clan head developing a jutsu that could wipe an entire village. The clan also formed a pact with Konoha through the Sandaime Hokage. In return for protection, the clan head declared the technique to be forbidden. After all, the Sandaime didn't want for a jutsu like that to be used against Konoha.

As Hotaru made to continue, Mei raised an arm, making Hotaru stop. "There's no need for you to continue. I am already aware of what that jutsu is."

Hotaru merely nodded at that.

'The tsuchigumo clan, huh?' thought Yagura. He had also heard of the clan during his time as the Mizukage, but he had never bothered with the clan.

'Now this is interesting,' thought Mei to herself. 'A member from that clan, to be here of all places…bah, it matters not. There's more important matters at the moment.'

"Let them out," ordered Mei to…someone.

Yagura stepped out of the cell once the seals were turned off. He glanced back to see if Utakata was going to follow, but he noticed that he wasn't. Instead, he was merely gazing at Hotaru who was looking down.

Yagura simply sighed but headed towards the exit.

"What about them?" asked Mei, referring to both Utakata and Hotaru.

"They have…personal issues to work out. I'll fill you in with everything that's happening at the moment."

Mei shrugged and followed Yagura. Before walking out however, she turned towards Ao. "Keep your eye on them…no pun intended."

Ao's eyes twitched but nodded nonetheless. Yagura, followed by Mei and her anbu escorts, walked through the exit and headed towards Mei's office.

Back in the prison cell, Hotaru was fidgeting nervously.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Utakata quietly.

"I…don't know," answered Hotaru softly.

Utakata sighed. "Then you wouldn't mind telling me everything?"

Hotaru simply nodded and smiled.

Outside of the cell, Ao rolled his eyes. 'Great, I get stuck babysitting the lovebirds,' he thought to himself. 'Why, back in my day, one simply had sex with the person they liked. Now, you have all these talks. Kids….'

* * *

><p>After having arrived at her office, Mei made herself comfortable on her office chair situated behind her desk. "So," she began as she leaned back, "just what exactly did you want to tell me? And how the hell are you even alive?"<p>

Yagura himself was sitting on of the guest chairs on the other side of Mei's desk. "Well, as to how I'm alive part…let's just say that I was resurrected from the dead."

Mei snorted in amusement at that. "You actually expect me to believe that? Please, I'm not one of those girls that fantasizes about that kind of crap."

Yagura chuckled at that. "Believe me, I know. But what I'm telling you is the truth."

"Alright then," began Mei sarcastically, "let's just say that I believe what you just told me. Who did this and how exactly did this happen?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," answered Yagura. "He's the one responsible for this."

"Uzumaki Naruto?" repeated Mei. "The Kyuubi jinchuriki?"

Yagura nodded. "Yes, that one."

"From what I've gathered he disappeared from his training trip with Jiraiya the Sennin and then returned to Konoha only to simply openly betray it."

"That's also right," agreed Yagura. 'Or at least I think so,' he thought to himself. 'He hadn't brought me back at that time.'

"So," began Mei, "just how exactly did he do it then?"

"He possesses the rinnegan," stated Yagura simply.

"WHAT!" exclaimed Mei as she stood up from her chair, loosing her relaxed posture. "How the hell is that possible!?"

Yagura shrugged. "I have no clue. He didn't tell us."

"'Us?'" repeated Mei as she sat back down but no longer in a relaxed position. "What do you mean 'us?'"

"He brought back all the jinchuriki that had been killed," explained Yagura, making Mei's eyes to widen.

"Just…how?"

Yagura sighed. "I really don't know. I do know that it has something to do with that rinnegan of his. Other than that though….I simply don't know."

Mei herself sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "Well this is great…" Mei then looked directly at Yagura. "So I'm guessing that he sent you here."

Yagura nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"What for?" asked Mei.

"To get you to agree to join him," answered Yagura.

"In what?"

Before Yagura could answer, much like with Sasuke, he felt a vibration within his right pocket of his akatsuki cloak. He simply reached into his pocket and pulled a disc shaped object.

Mei was immediately on guard. "What is that?"

Yagura chuckled at her defensiveness. "Don't worry. I also have no clue as to what this is."

**"That's my fault, I suppose."**

Both Mei and Yagura blinked in surprise as an image appeared on the disc. The image waved at Mei. **"Why, hello there! It really is nice to meet another woman who is a serious kunoichi."**

Mei raised an eyebrow. "While I appreciate the compliment, who are you?"

The image chuckled. **"Where are my manners? My name is Uchiha Mikoto. A pleasure to meet you, Terumi Mei, Godaime Mizukage."**

Mei's eyes widened as Mikoto introduced herself. "Uchiha? But you were all wiped out, save for two members!"

Mikoto chuckled. **"Yes, I suppose that's what most people think, isn't it? But let me tell you that that is total bullshit. Things are way more complicated than you think."**

Mei frowned. "Mind enlightening me?"

Mikoto sighed. **"Unfortunately, I do. That's something that I'm not willing to share with just anyone. All you need to know is that I am alive."**

Mei's frown remained on her face, but she could understand as to why Mikoto wouldn't just simply tell her. That didn't mean that she herself trusted Mikoto, though. "So? What do you want?"

**"I'm sure you know how your village is viewed by the others,"** began Mikoto**, "as weak. Kiri has only survived thanks to your strong leadership, and I respect that."**

Yagura, who had been silent, flinched at being reminded at what he did. Well, it wasn't really him, but still.

**"I'm amaze that the other villages haven't tried anything,"** continued Mikoto**, "but I suppose that's because they were trying to recover themselves from the previous war. But we both know that is not going to last forever. So I ask you, what if Kiri stroke first."**

"And just what exactly do you propose for me to do?" asked Mei.

**"For you to join us," **answered Mikoto. **"Currently both Kumo and Iwa are on our side to bring down Konoha."**

Now that surprised Mei greatly. For Iwa and Kumo to be working together….the last time that that had happened was when….

"And why should I even consider this?" asked Mei, but she herself knew that that was a stupid question.

Mikoto's hologram scoffed. **"Shouldn't it be obvious? With Konoha out of the way, you receive much needed resources that Konoha possesses, as well as just simply removing a potential major threat out of the picture."**

Mei contemplated it for a few moments, but she knew that there wasn't much to contemplate on. Yes, Kiri was doing better than it had when Yagura was in control and the civil war was occurring. But it was still no where near as to where it had once been before the civil war. Who knew how long it would take for the village to get back to that state, if ever. And in the shinobi world, weakness meant destruction. Time just simply wasn't an ally.

**"Well….?"**

But there was one thing that was holding Mei back. An uchiha had been the one responsible to set a genjutsu on Yagura to control him. Now as to who it was….Mei suspected that it couldn't have been anyone other than Uchiha Madara considering how powerful the genjutsu was. But that was a silly theory...right?

"I don't know if you're aware," began Mei, "but one of you Uchiha was responsible for the civil war that took place in Kiri."

**"Oh, I know,"** interrupted Mikoto**, "and you'll be glad to know that he's dead. I killed him myself. If you want the proof, I can show you the body. If you fear that we were in on that, then you're terribly mistaken. That was simply a rogue uchiha that is now dead. Surely Yagura would have told you."**

Mei glanced at said shinobi who simply shrugged as to say 'I told you so.'

Mei rolled her eyes before answering. "I see…well I would most surely like to see the body of the person that caused Kiri so many problems. But as how things stand right now….yes, Kiri will join in this."

**"Excellent. I assure you that you will not regret your decision. I will send for the body to be delivered to Kiri. And one final thing-that invitation for the kage meeting that was sent to you by the Kazekage, well accept it. It is necessary."**

Mei simply nodded. She already had intentions of attending at any rate.

**"Until we meet, Mei."**

Mikoto's hologram form disappeared. Yagura placed the disc interment back into his pocket in the akatsuki cloak, wondering how the hell Mikoto had placed it there without him noticing in the first place.

"Now that was interesting," commented Mei.

Yagura nodded. "Yes it was," he agreed, "but you made the right decision."

"We'll see," responded Mei. "Now, one final thing-why in the blue hells are you wearing the akatsuki uniform?"

Yagura merely shrugged.

* * *

><p>It was chaos within the temporary place for the council meeting in Konoha. It was currently being held in one of the few buildings that had been built the night before.<p>

Tsunade could only sigh in annoyance as the civilian council continued to suggest idiotic things in how to find and eliminate Naruto. Of course, this time they did have the right to be here, so there was nothing that she could do about that. But they certainly as hell didn't have the right to suggest how Naruto was to be killed. That was her job.

Another thing that was irritating her to no end was her grandmother. She was alive….the fuck? Just how in the world was she still alive? And so young as well….

"We really shouldn't be bothering about such things," said Hiashi, silencing the civilians for the moment. "While it is true that something needs to be done about Uzumaki Naruto, now it is the time for us to rebuild and reorganize our forces for us to be ready for the next time that he strikes, or if any other of our enemies decide to do so as well."

Shikaku was merely silent, still not having completely recovered at the death of his two best friends. And to think that they were killed by one of his son's best friends who also killed his best friend….now how many people can say that that has happened to them? He was also beating himself for making stupid mistakes. And now the Akimichi clan is nearly gone.

"Hiashi is right," said Tsunade, "right now we have to focus on rebuilding the village. It wouldn't surprise me if any of the other villages are planning an attack. We need to be ready for that possibility."

"As well as the betrayal of Danzo and the Nanabi jinchuriki," reminded Shibi. "With the loss of them both, we have lost strong allies and resources."

Tsunade scowled at the reminder of Danzo. 'I'm not sure he was on our side to begin with,' she thought. 'And Fu…it seems that she really is with Naruto.' Her hands turned into fists. 'And Naruto…'

"We have to stop that brat!" declared Tsume.

"Now is not the time for petty thoughts such as revenge," said Shibi.

Tsume scowled at him. "Don't get in my way, bug boy," she growled.

"Enough!" said Tsunade as she brought her fists down on the table, making a crack. "Now is not the time for us to fight with each other. We need to work together to overcome this. Is that clear!?"

The other members, be it shinobi or civilian, fell silent at that.

Tsunade herself calmed down. "Alright, then let's proceed with the plans for the reconstruction of the village…."

Leaning on of the walls, Kabuto smirked. 'She's inspirational alright, I'll give her that.'

He then proceeded to walk out of the building, a smirk on his face. 'Too bad that she's too trustful….'

* * *

><p>"So that's what happened…."<p>

Kankuro could only stare in bewilderment as to what they had just learned. "But how the heck is that possible?"

Gaara sighed. 'I wish I knew that….'

"Well, I suppose that akatsuki is no longer a problem then," commented Temari, "but it seems that we may have a bigger one on the loose now."

Gaara glanced at his older sister. "We don't know that yet."

Kankuro shook his head, a serious look on his face. "Don't let your personal feeling interfere Gaara. Naruto may well have become just like Sasuke and lost himself in the darkness. Remember that you're the Kazekage."

Gaara sighed at that. "I know that, Kankuro. But that doesn't mean that I should just simply jump into conclusions yet."

"He destroyed Konoha, as well as akatsuki and leaving Ame in chaos in the process," retorted Kankuro before grunting in pain thanks to Temari elbowing him.

Temari sighed. "I hate to admit it Gaara, but Kankuro is right….for once." Kankuro scowled at that. "Something tells me that it won't take long for him to be wanted internationally."

Gaara stood up from his chair and walked towards the window before gazing at the village and the villagers that he swore to protect.

'Gaara,' thought Temari sadly. She knew that this was tough on him. Naruto was practically his best friend. For him to be doing what he's doing….it was forcing Gaara to make a choice in wether or not he would join Naruto or be force to bring him down.

"I suppose the Kage meeting is no longer needed, is it?" said Kankuro.

Gaara shook his head. "No, it will still take place. Only now, we will have a new topic to discuss."

Temari nodded, agreeing. "Yes, that is true. Naruto is becoming too dangerous to leave alone."

Gaara continued to stare silently at the village below. 'What should I do?' he wondered to himself. Never before did he think that he would ever have this problem, but fate seemed to prove him wrong. 'Two days, I have two days left to decide on something.'

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this?"<p>

**"Yes, I am. It's the best way."**

Mito sighed as she processed everything that she had just been told.

Currently we find her, Obito, both Black and White Zetsu, and Mikoto in her holographic form in the now dubbed 'meeting room' in one of Mito's old bases. Well, it was more of a safehouse really, rather than a base.

"Well I suppose there's no helping it then," said Mito.

**"It won't cause too many problems. All we need to watch out for are both Suna and Konoha," **said Mikoto.

**"I wouldn't be so sure,"** responded Black Zetsu.

**"And what is it then?"** asked Mikoto.

"There's also a chance for the Land of Iron to get involve," answered his counterpart. "It's full of samurai that will most likely try to help Suna and Konoha because of their 'moral code.'"

Obito chuckled from his spot. "That is true. Although I've never fought against a samurai before. I wonder if anyone of them can give me a good challenge."

**"You're not turning into a masochist, are you?" **asked Mikoto sarcastically.

Obito chuckled and shrugged. "Maybe…."

**"Most of them are weak,"** stated Black Zetsu**, "but there are a few, like the leader of the samurai, that can possibly give you an interesting fight."**

"I see…"

"That aside," began Mito, "we need to prepare ourselves for this meeting then."

**"That reminds me, where are Naruto and Kushina?"** asked Mikoto.

"Asleep," answered Obito with a shrug. "Well maybe they are. You never know," he finished with a knowing smirk making Mikoto sigh.

'I see,' thought Mito. 'So are they really….?'

**"Well then Obito, you know where you need to go to now,"** said Mikoto.

That caused said Uchiha to sigh. "Yeah, I know. I have to deliver Tobi's body to the hot and sexy Mizukage."

**"Good…."**

'These two are not your typical uchiha alright,' thought Mito to herself. Wether that was a good thing or not, well it was still early to decide.

**"In any case, that's everything for the moment. I'll keep you posted in case something else happens."**

Mito nodded as Mikoto's image disappeared.

"Also, where's that sexy redhead that you recruited?" asked Obito to Mito.

Mito merely rolled her eyes. "In her room as well."

"Too bad. I wanted to at least see her one more time. Oh well…" Obito then disappeared in his usual vortex.

Mito narrowed her eyes slightly on the spot to where Obito had been. 'That guy….something tells me that he knows something that even I don't know. Damn you Madara, telling that person of all people everything, but leaving me out of the loop on some things. Just what exactly is your plan?' She then glanced at Zetsu.

**"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, let me save you the trouble of trying. I'm not going to tell you anything no matter what you do,"** stated Black zetsu. **"Mikoto already tried, and she failed."**

White zetsu chuckled. "And I don't know anything, so even if I wanted to tell you, I can't. But that's a very big if."

Mito sighed as Zetsu sunk on the ground. She had no idea what…it or whatever gender it was, was going to do. But it was still kind of confusing-both Madara and Hashirama combined as one, almost like their child in a way. Now that disturbing thought brought a shudder upon Mito. She knew Hashirama was not gay. Oh yeah, she could attest to that one hundred percent.

She shook her head as she made her way towards the 'medical room' to check on Fu. Now was no time for perverted thoughts. She had more self control than that. But that brought another thought to her mind-were Naruto and Kushina involved together in a relationship beyond that of a mother and son?

If they were, it didn't really change anything in Mito's opinion. Clans always practiced incest when necessary when faced with threat of extinction. And considering how messed up both of their lives have been so far, a weird relationship like that shouldn't be too surprising.

'Whatever,' thought Mito, 'it does not concern me.'

* * *

><p><em><strong>Several hours later….<strong>_

"You know we've been liying in bed the whole day…."

Naruto merely sighed. "Call it relaxation day, if you will. Things have been hectic lately, so it doesn't hurt to take a day off."

Kushina chuckled as she placed her head on Naruto's chest. "I suppose that's true."

Naruto ran his right hand through Kushina's naked back, making Kushina sigh contently. It would be great if they could do this for much longer, but things weren't that simple, unfortunately. Things are always complicated. There were still a great many things that needed to be done before they could just simply relax for the rest of their lives. Of course, afterwards….who knew?

'Too bad I'm not the only one,' thought Kushina, the faces of Mikoto, Fu, and Anko appearing on her mind. But she wasn't about to complain anymore than that. Considering that in a way she had helped in creating her only child's fucked up childhood when she didn't stop Minato in going through with his plan, she could live with having to share him with a few women. But the kind of awkward part was that one of the said women was her best friend. And that brought her to the shower that she had taken with both Naruto and Mikoto before they had gone to destroy akatsuki once and for all.

If someone had told her that one day she was going to have a threesome with both her only son and best friend, well she would have laughed at the person. But it became true. Was that wrong? Kushina honestly didn't care about the answer to that. She was happy, and her son was happy. That was all that mattered in her opinion.

Naruto looked at his other hand that he was not using to rub Kushina's back. He could feel with every passing moment how his body became adjusted to the 'power boost' that he had received. Just lying in bed wasn't simply just for relaxation, although having his mother's naked body pressed up next to him was definitely an added bonus, the fact of the matter was that his body needed to become in tune to the changes that were taking place.

It wouldn't do any good if he was moving around. That would only slow down the process, which meant it would take much more time for him to be in his one hundred percent status, which would not be good.

'Oi, Kurama,' thought Naruto, trying to contact his bijuu, only to find silence as the response.

'What is that furball up to?'

* * *

><p><strong>"Kyuubi, what do you want now?"<strong>

**"No need to be so hostile, Chomei."**

Chomei snarled. **"My host almost died. How do you expect me-"**

**"Oh?"** interrupted Kurama with a grin. **"And here I thought that you didn't care about the girl? What changed?"**

**"Don't get me wrong!"** denied Chomei. **"If she were to die it would mean that my power would get dispersed and take a long time for me to come back together as one. I'm only worried about myself here!"**

**"Sure you are…."**

Chomei snarled again. **"Is there any reason for you to have called me?"**

Kurama sighed. **"Yes there is unfortunately."**

**"And what is that?"**

Kurama pointed one of his tails to his left.

Chomei looked to where Kurama was pointing at, and saw what the problem was. **'Not him….'**

**"OI, YOU STUPID FOX! I WANT OUT NOW!"** screamed Shukaku as he appeared in between Kurama and Chomei.

Chomei sighed in annoyance. He had been hoping not to deal with Shukaku ever again, but apparently it seemed that his wish had not been granted.

**"Why exactly is he here?"** asked Chomei.

**"He's still trapped inside the Gedo Mazo,"** explained Kurama**, "and since Naruto is now it's summoner…."**

**"He's able to communicate with you and now me because I'm nearby too," **finished Chomei.

**"HEY, DID YOU HEAR ME, KYUUBI! TELL THAT WHISKERED HUMAN TO GET ME OUT!"**

**"And released you out where, huh?" **said Kurama. **"Just be patient. You'll be able freed soon enough. Right, Chomei?"**

Why the hell did Kyuubi have to drag him into this? He was never one for quarrels, dammit!

Shukaku scowled, but before he could say anything else, Kurama released some of his power and killer intent upon Shukaku.

**"I said your time will come. Just be patient,"** stated Kurama in a deadly voice making both Shukaku and Chomei stop on their tracks.

Shukaku merely nodded before disappearing, having cut off the link.

**'So the old Kyuubi is still in there,'** thought Chomei. **'There was a reason why you were the Old Man's favorite.'**

**"Well then Chomei,"** began Kurama**, "it seems that you're progressing in your relationship with your host. Keep it up. You won't regret it, trust me."**

Chomei merely stared silently at the spot Kurama had occupied seconds before.

* * *

><p>Neji sighed to himself as he walked through the 'village.' It wasn't even a village really. It was…well Neji didn't very well know what it was.<p>

He was returning from a private ceremony held by the rookies themselves to honor both Choji and Kiba, as well as Akamaru. The most affected were clearly both Shikamaru and Ino. Shikamaru lost his best friend, while Ino lost a close friend as well as her father. Hinata….well she didn't seem that much affected which greatly surprised Neji.

Kiba was one of her teammates after all, and from what he could gather, Kiba did seemed to have had a crush on the girl. But Hinata was always paying attention to Naruto that she just simply ignored the young Inuzuka.

Not that it would have worked out in the first place. There was just no way that Hiashi would allow for his daughter to 'shame' the Hyuuga clan that way, even if he didn't think too much of Hinata. She was still a member of the Main House after all.

There was also that conversation that he had with Anko the night before. Wait. That was all they could do. If they did something, it could cause unnecessary drawbacks.

"Neji-nii-san."

Neji stopped on his tracks. He looked back to see a very determined Hyuuga Hinata standing in front of him. 'What could she possibly want?' wondered Neji to himself. "What is it, Hinata-sama?" he asked her.

Hinata shook her head. "Not here. Follow me."

Doing as instructed, a very shocked Neji followed Hinata. Why was he shocked? Well the girl didn't stutter! Not even once! What the hell was going on?

Neji narrowed his eyes as he walked behind Hinata. Could this Hinata simply be a spy? Someone from a different village who was ordered to do reconnaissance on the village's status? But why henge yourself into Hinata of all people? She was well known, well sort of. If this was an infiltration mission, wouldn't it have been much more simpler to henge into some random civilian? And why ask for him to follow the person? Couldn't that jeopardize the mission? Unless Neji himself was the target in which case it would mean an ambush….

Neji shook his head from those thoughts. Maybe he was just over thinking things like Shikamaru. But that still didn't explain the sudden change in Hinata.

Both Hyuuga members stopped in a secluded area in the village with no workers, or villagers, or shinobis present at the moment. The reason for it? Both Hyuugas didn't know.

Hinata was currently facing away from Neji. "Neji-nii-san," began Hinata, "I know for a fact that you're a traitor to this village."

Neji's eyes widened to their maximum. 'How does she….?'

Hinata turned to look at Neji's shocked face, but hers was determined. "And I also know that you're on Naruto-kun's side. So….where is Naruto-kun!?"

* * *

><p>"Alright you two! It's almost nightfall again. You've been in there for an entire day! It's time to get out!"<p>

Kushina chuckled as she heard Mito's irritated voice on the other side of the door and stood up from the bed and stretched in front of Naruto. "I suppose she's right. It is time for us to get out."

Naruto sighed but he got up as well. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

**"An entire day, brat…you're not becoming one of those Nara are you?"**

Naruto rolled his eyes as he made his way to the partially opened drawer in the room. He had taken a shower earlier in the day with Kushina, but at the end he didn't feel like going outside so he simply crawled back to the bed, Kushina following his example. 'I'm just letting my body become attune to my new powers. That's all.'

**"Whatever you say…."**

Naruto didn't respond. He merely proceeded to put on the black and grayish armor that Mito had shown him the previous night.

Kushina herself was dressing herself in her attire from before, akatsuki cloak included. Once they were both done, Kushina kissed him one last time, and she noticed a necklace around Naruto's neck. "What is this?" she asked him, pointing to the necklace.

"It came with the armor," answered Naruto. The necklace from the Shodai was underneath.

Kushina nodded. "I see. Well then…"

The two uzumaki's then unlocked the door and opened it, only to find an irritated Mito and a partially amused Fuka on the other side.

"Finally," said Mito.

Kushina had the decency to look sheepish and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry….."

Naruto didn't say anything.

"Forget it," said Mito, shaking her head before starting to walk further down the hallway, motioning for the rest to follow.

'The kid looks different now,' thought Fuka, noticing the changes in Naruto. 'I wonder what happened….'

"Where are we going?" asked Naruto.

Mito glanced back at him before directing her gaze forward. "Well, we do have time to spare so I thought maybe a little trip was in order. We're heading to Uzu, the homeland of the uzumakis."

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**I know, I know. It took longer for me to update than how I was originally updating, but my life suddenly became very busy again. But fret not, because here I am. And with my arrival, it concludes another chapter.**

**Now the chapter itself….meh I have no idea what to think of it personally. So I'll leave up to you readers to decide what you thought.**

**I'm also going to answer a few things right now. Number one-someone stated that the conversation between The Rikudo Sennin and Naruto was influenced by another story, and you sir/madam, are absolutely right. The name of the story is **_**Shinobi Clan Wars **_**by Adrien Skywalker. It's a very well written fic that I hope this author continues. But seeing as he hasn't updated in awhile, that hope is dying out.**

**Secondly-as to why Neji didn't simply use his byakugan to see into the bushes. Well for one, just as about Anko was about to discover who it was, a patrol making sure the area was clear was nearby. So both Neji and Anko were forced to flee and forgot about the whole bush thing. There is another reason but that will be given by Neji himself later.**

**Thirdly-why Naruto cared about saving Fu when he can just simply resurrect her again using the Shinigami. Now that is true that he can resurrect Fu, but not Chomei since the bijuu itself wouldn't die. Chomei's chakra would simply scatter and come together at a different location, so Fu would no longer be a jinchuriki. And lastly, even though Naruto can revive people, he doesn't want those close to him to die at all if he had the chance to save them. He still cares about some of them.**

**And fourthly-well I don't have a fourthly…I think. Meh, if I missed something, just tell me.**

**But yeah, that pretty much does it for me this time. Once again, hope you enjoyed the chapter and do please tell me what you thought.**

**Till next time**


	35. Day 2: Family Trip-Hidden Secrets of Uzu

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 34:<br>Day Two:  
>Family Trip-Hidden Secrets of Uzu<strong>

Moist and Cool.

Kushina sighed contently to herself as the moist and cool night air blew against her face with small to little force. It was kind of refreshing. No, it was refreshing. It had been, hell Kushina didn't know how long it had been since she had last felt like this. After all, she was about seven when she was brought to Konoha to be used as the second jinchuriki for the Kyuubi. After that, she hadn't once ever returned to her homeland. But now she was, and the familiar environment was making her a lot more excited than she first thought that she was going to be when Mito said that they were heading to Uzu.

Currently the four uzumakis-Kushina, Naruto, Mito, and Fuka-were on a local tourist boat that brought people from all over the world that wanted to visit nearby lands in The Land of Water. Of course they were already close enough to the island to where Uzu was located in that the atmosphere was almost the same. Of course Uzu would be a bit more moist, but still.

They would dock at a nearby port village where they would rent their own private transportation. It seemed that Mito had saved a large amount of money from when she was alive. But that didn't come as a great surprise to Kushina. Mito was, or probably still is, the greatest kunoichi that the ninja world has ever known. And coming from a clan such as the Uzumaki who was wealthy in its own right, but also the wife of the Shodai Hokage who was also the leader of the great Senju clan? It would be a surprise if Mito didn't have any money!

But there was one small setback, and that setback was Kiri. It was very close to where Uzu once stood. But the uzumakis weren't too concerned about that. Both Yagura and Utakata were sent there to make the Mizukage agree to become part of the alliance among the uzumakis, uchihas, Kumo, and Iwa. And according to Mikoto, the Mizukage had agreed….for the moment at least. They were trying to keep the trip a secret for the moment, and it wouldn't do them any good if Kiri found out about it.

But that should be fairly simple. They were merely going to see what remained of the once prosperous land of the uzumakis. Or at least, that was all Kushina thought that they were going to do. Who knew what Mito had planned.

"Nostalgic, isn't it?"

Kushina turned her head back to see Mito standing by the doorway that lead into the ship. Kushina herself had been standing outside by the rail, just simply enjoying nature herself. Mito was wearing one of her elaborates kimonos once again. How she could stand to wear those, Kushina didn't know. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Kushina was a bit of a tomboy, not that she minded being one.

Kushina nodded and turned back to look at the water down below. "Yes, it is. It's been forever since I have last gone there. I actually never thought that I would ever return seeing as I was one of the last remaining uzumakis and the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Not to mention the wife of the Yondaime, so the village would have never risk sending me out."

Mito chuckled as she walked up to stand next to Kushina. "Yes, I can understand how that feels. It's kind of ironic, isn't it? Both of us being the jinchuriki for the strongest bijuu of the nine, as well as getting married to one of the hokages."

That brought a frown upon Kushina's face. Minato…she hadn't thought of him much at all since she had come back to life. Especially since Naruto wasn't the greatest fan of him, or at least that's what Kushina thought. She honestly didn't know what Naruto felt about his father. She knew of course that there had to be some hatred if how they fought within the seal was any indication. But that was it. After that, it seemed that Naruto didn't give a rat's ass about Minato. Was that a good thing? Kushina honestly didn't know the answer to that.

But how did she feel about her late husband? She couldn't really hate him for what happened between Konoha and the uzumaki clan. He had no idea about it at the time, or afterwards. There was the chance of Sarutobi telling him, but that was a small one at best. That was one secret that that generation didn't want to share with anyone else. But sealing Kyuubi into their son….

But she couldn't place the entire blame onto him either. She should have done more to try to stop him. But if she had done that, then could any of this have been possible? The hatred within Naruto's heart towards Konoha began because of that. It was only him knowing about the betrayal of the uzumaki clan that broke the final straw, in a figurative sense. And if none of this occurred, then neither her being with Naruto in the way they currently were could have been possible either. So…did she hate Minato….?

"Confused?"

Kushina glanced at Mito to see said redhead staring at her. "Yes I am," finally answered Kushina.

Mito nodded and turned to look at the cloudy night sky. "I thought as much. Let me guess, does it have something to do with Naruto's father?"

The silence was all the response that Mito needed.

"What's the problem?"

Kushina sighed. "I'm just wondering how I feel about him. I mean, I know that I did love him once. But now…"

"You don't know how you feel about him," finished Mito for her.

Kushina nodded. "Yes, that's basically it. I know that I shouldn't blame him for some of the mistakes that Konoha has done. But for what he did to Naruto-kun….but I'm partially to blame for that as well."

"Hmm….you're simply over thinking this."

Kushina turned to look at her relative. "What do you mean?" asked Kushina.

Mito shrugged. "It's simple. Naruto has obviously gotten over the whole deal with the Yondaime. Yes, there still is resentment present, and will probably last forever. How much, well that's something that only he knows. But he realizes that it's pointless to dwell on that because the man is already dead. What's the point on dwelling on a dead man? Nothing, that's what. And he realizes that. Not to mention the fact that he gained a close..friend, I suppose is the word. He gained a new friend from the selfishness of his own father."

"You're talking about the Kyuubi?" said Kushina with wide eyes.

Mito nodded. "Yes. It doesn't take long for one to realize that they're obviously friends, or partners if you will. The point is that Naruto probably trusts Kyuubi, and vice-versa."

"I never saw it like that…." muttered Kushina, remembering her own conversation with her son on that subject. Could he possibly trust Kyuubi now? And did that mean that he started to at least trust in her as well? Now that would be great in Kushina's opinion.

"It would also explain why he doesn't express any negativity towards you. He must know what you're feeling troubled about-that you could have done more to stop the Yondaime. But like I said, by this point, he simply doesn't care."

Kushina chuckled. "I guess I'm really over thinking at the moment…."

"I told you."

Kushina then looked around. "Where is he, by the way?"

It was Mito's turn to chuckle. "He's with Fuka."

Kushina's eyes narrowed. "Is he now…"

Mito raised an eyebrow, partially amused. "Feeling jealous?"

This caused Kushina to pause. After all, she didn't know how Mito would react in knowing that she had a romantic relationship with her son.

"You can relax," said Mito, picking up on Kushina's hesitance. "I already know about your relationship with Naruto."

That caused Kushina's eyes to widen. "How?"

Mito simply shrugged. "I'm not so dense as to not see it. I mean, it is clearly obvious that you two are involved that way. Not that I care anyways. It's your life, not mine."

Kushina slowly nodded, not sure what else to do. She just settled into just simply going back to enjoying the feeling that going back to her homeland brought her, Mito joining her as well.

* * *

><p>Naruto could only sigh in annoyance at all the jealous looks he was receiving at the moment. And why was he receiving those, you might ask yourself. Well the answer to that was simple. And that answer was sitting next to him at the small bar that the ship contained.<p>

Fuka drank her drink happily, oblivious to the lustful stares that she was receiving, or the jealous ones that Naruto was receiving. Or maybe she was so use to it that she just simply didn't care anymore.

But it was plain annoying to Naruto. And why shouldn't it be? If anyone of the morons wanted a shot at the redhead next to him, they should simply come up and give it a shot. It wasn't like he and Fuka were an item, although it probably looked that way to an outsider. Not that he would mind hooking up with the redhead, but he had more self control than that. And he had Kushina. And Mikoto. And Anko. And Fu.

Speaking of the mint-haired girl, the girl hadn't recovered enough to accompany them. She wasn't even awake yet. So Mito had left a bunch of white zetsu's to guard her that Obito had started to manufacture, as well as a protective barrier around the house. So Fu was pretty much safe at the moment.

And now they were heading to Uzu. Naruto didn't know how to feel about that. It was where his family came from, well one side of it. It would be interesting to see how Uzu was like, or what remained of it. If he were honest with himself, Naruto wasn't expecting much. After all, the place had been destroyed for about thirty years or so. Who knew how bad in a condition the place was in.

"Oi, you," said a voice from behind both Naruto and Fuka, braking Naruto out of his thoughts.

Naruto turned his back to glance at whoever said that, only to see that it was some random man who was currently staring at Fuka. Heh, so apparently someone had the balls to step up after all.

Fuka for her part was still drinking her drink like usual, not even bothering to acknowledge the man's presence, something that he didn't take well, if the displeased look on his face and the twitching of his eyebrows were any indication.

Naruto turned back to his own drink, although paying attention to see what would happen.

**"Heh, this is going to be good!"**

Naruto internally rolled his eyes at Kurama's excitement present within his voice, not that he wasn't curious himself. Would the man succeed? So far, it didn't seem like he would.

"Oi, I'm talking to you," he said again.

This time Fuka did sigh and placed her drink down on the table in front of her. "What the hell do you want?" she asked, not bothering to turn around.

"My name is Hideyoshi Hibiki," said the newly identified Hibiki with a smirk on his face. "And I was just wondering why such a woman like yourself is bothering to hang with a loser like this guy," finished Hibiki, pointing towards Naruto.

Now that caused Naruto to lose interest in seeing how Hibiki would do, in him becoming annoyed and plain pissed.

Fuka chuckled. 'This idiot just made a big mistake,' she thought to herself. After seeing what Naruto did to Konoha, well….Hibiki was a bigger moron now that she thought of it.

"Oh?" said Fuka finally turning around to look at Hibiki, deciding to throw him a bone. Hibiki himself wasn't anything special. Dark brown hair with brown eyes, and a regular built, with black pants and a white sleeveless collar shirt, the collar up. But what made that last fact annoying was that it was obviously just Hibiki trying to act 'cool,' not realizing that it did just the opposite. "And what makes you a better choice?"

Now that caused Naruto to raise an eyebrow, his dangerous thoughts of what he was going to do to Hibiki put on hold for a second. 'What is she doing?'

Hibiki smirked again. "Well, I can tell you that I know what style is, unlike him."

Fuka had to fight back a laugh at that. 'Yeah, says the man with his collar up,' thought Fuka sarcastically.

"What else?" said Fuka with a sultry smile.

Naruto's eyebrows twitched, seeing where she was going with this.

Hibiki continued to smirk and began to get closer to Fuka. "Well, I can totally show you a better time than he ever can," he whispered into her ear.

He wasn't able to see Fuka roll her eyes and glance at Naruto as if saying 'Deal with him.'

Naruto snorted and went back to his drink. He wasn't going to do anything. She was the one who started this.

Fuka rolled her eyes again. She would have to get her hands dirty it would seem. "Sorry," she said with a dangerous undertone, "but I'm not that kind of girl."

The next thing Hibiki knew, he felt immense pain in his lower body courtesy of Fuka's knee hitting his precious jewel. "So, get the fuck away from me!"

Hibiki merely stumbled back to the table where he had come from. That also seemed to discourage anyone else from trying to take a shot with the redhead.

Fuka scoffed and turned back to finishing her drink before ordering another one.

**"Hmm….I was hoping for a bit more action there."**

Naruto merely ignored the disappointed bijuu.

"Thanks for your help," said Fuka sarcastically as she started to drink a newly refilled cup. How many had she drank so far? She couldn't really remember, and that was a sign that she was getting close to becoming drunk. Perhaps she should stop now. But as she started to drink again, that thought left her mind.

"You're the one that started to flirt with the guy," retorted Naruto.

Fuka snorted and turn to look at him, a challenging look on her eyes. "You wanna go, buddy?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. 'Is she drunk?' he wondered.

**"I would probably say yes."** Fuka let out a small hiccup. **"No, I would definitely say yes."**

'But she wasn't drunk a minute ago!'

Seriously…what the hell?

**"Hmm….true. Wait…the drink…."**

Naruto glanced at the bartender who had served it and saw him looking at Fuka just like all the other men present, even if some were married, with their wives present…..yeah. Kids, never do that!

'Ah, that explains it.'

"Oi, don't ignore me!"

**"Something doesn't add up though…."**

'And what is that?'

Before Kurama could respond, Fuka growled at Naruto and made to punch him, only to fall when she tried to stand up. Naruto caught her before she hit the ground and sighed.

'What's wrong with some people these days?'

Naruto picked her up bridal style just as Kushina and Mito walked in. "What's going on here?" asked Mito.

"Ask him," responded Naruto, tilting his head to look at the bartender and proceeded to walk out with Fuka.

Mito narrowed her eyes and connected the dots. The bartender for his part was sweating bullets as he gazed at Mito. Said redhead had a dark aura surrounding her. She then walked slowly towards the bartender who was too frightened to move.

Kushina shook her head as screams began to be heard throughout the bar. Seriously, what was wrong with some people?

* * *

><p>Naruto sighed as he placed Fuka on her bed who was beginning to stir.<p>

'That was fast,' remarked Naruto.

**"And that was what I wanted to tell you. You uzumaki are extremely resilient to any poison. So it's surprising that she was affected by that. My guess is that it must have been an extremely strong one, although it seems that the effects are wearing off already."**

Fuka then let out an extremely girly giggle.

**"Or maybe not…"**

Naruto really wished that he had a camera at this point. This was one of those moments where one wanted to keep in record.

His thoughts left him as Fuka made to grab him and succeeded. The next thing he knew, Naruto was lying in bed with an extremely hot woman. An extremely drunk/drugged hot woman.

Naruto simply shrugged to himself. It seemed that that stunt pulled off by the idiot bartender had opened an opportunity to him, and he wasn't one to say no to the gifts life offered him.

With that in mind, he dived in. Soon, grunts and moans filled the room.

When Kushina arrived later to check on her fellow redhead and relative, her eyes twitched in annoyance as she heard the sounds coming from within Fuka's bedroom. 'That little….'

Feel free to finish that statement.

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><p>Danzo paced back and forth within his tent in his temporary camp. He was close to arriving at The Land of Iron. He suspected that he would be there by tomorrow night. That should give him enough time to set up everything to ensure that his plan could not fail once the meeting began.<p>

But he wasn't worried about that at the moment. No, his first priority at the moment was a disturbing revelation that he had just learned. There was a spy within his ranks. Said spy had been executed a few hours before, but that still didn't mean that the implications that came with this were any good.

Hyuuga Neji….just who was he working for? That was how he had find out about this. A meeting between the two was held. But his operatives hadn't told him fast enough. He had been too busy with the Nanabi jinchuriki after all. But that turned out to be a failure in the end. And all because of the Kyuubi jinchuriki.

Wait…could Uzumaki Naruto be behind this? But the operative had been placed in a genjutsu. A very strong one at that. And all the records show that Uzumaki Naruto had no talent whatsoever in that area. In fact, no jinchuriki ever did. But then again, the boy possessed the rinnegan. Could that have given him the ability in genjutsu?

It was possible. There were many unknowns about that dojutsu. But just what exactly was the brat after? And if he had that hyuuga on his side, who else was?

Danzo scowled. His moves were pretty limited while he was in Konoha. But if only he had known sooner, he could have captured the hyuuga and force him to tell him everything. But if he had made a move, there would have been many cons with that. Unless he could have proved the hyuuga was a traitor, but Tsunade would have used that against him as well, and probably disband Root. The anbu that had not reported to him sooner was punished severely as well. Info like that needed to be given immediately, dammit! Even if he himself would have been too stubborn to pay any attention to it since all of his attention had all been on the Nanabi jinchuriki. Not a good choice now that he thought of it.

Danzo scowled again. There was nothing he could do now except to plan for the future. The kage meeting for one. But that wasn't the only thing. He still had another card up his sleeve. And if he found it, then his chances became that much higher.

* * *

><p>Kabuto smirked to himself as he gazed at the island in front of him. With all the rebuilding in the village, Tsunade would not notice that he was missing. And even if she did, he would simply make an excuse. After all, what use could he be at the moment with all the reconstruction taking place?<p>

Kabuto then glanced at the scroll in his hand. All the information he needed to find what he was looking for was in it.

And if he succeeded in finding it, both Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't stand a chance.

Much like with Orochimaru, his long tongue came out of his mouth. Well, there was no point in just standing here. It was time to make his thoughts a reality.

* * *

><p>It was a very cool and even more moist of a late morning than it was the previous night. But that was due because they were now currently staring at the island where Uzu was located in. The only problem were the defenses. The defenses consisted of a bunch of whirlpools surrounding the entire island that would shred anyone to pieces. Especially if he or she tried to swim. And if by some miracle someone did get through the whirlpools, the island was protected by a barrier much stronger than the one Konoha had. Well it no longer existed since Uzu collapsed.<p>

But that brought an interesting question that was asked by Naruto. If the defenses were as strong as they sounded to be, how did the strike force sent to destroy Uzu even get in then?

Mito merely shook her head and said that even she didn't know that which troubled her greatly. After all, she hadn't been present there when it had happened.

The atmosphere between the uzumakis was currently a bit awkward. Fuka herself was feeling the most awkwardness. She had sex with Naruto….well she didn't really mind, but it seemed that the boy's mother did. Ouch.

Naruto merely seemed oblivious to it all, but it was clearly all an act.

Mito for her part could only laugh in her mind. Nothing brighten the mood than when sex was brought in within a group.

"So how are we going to get past these?" asked Naruto.

The four uzumaki were currently within a fairly medium size ship that Mito had rented. With insurance of course. She knew the luck that followed those that were an uzumaki.

"Simple," responded Mito, bringing her hands up to a handseal, "these whirlpools aren't naturally made. They are created by seals that we placed within the water. All you have to do is turn them off and the whirlpools will disappear. Of course you can't do this without being an uzumaki, since only we know the seals for this."

As soon as she finished, true to her word the whirlpools disappeared.

Naruto smirked as their ship began to move closer to the island. The uzumakis were all about fuinjutsu all right. Too bad that he wasn't near the level that Mito was. But then again, he didn't think anyone was. On that note, he wasn't near Kushina's level either. Why was that? Maybe because he wasn't a complete uzumaki? Or he just simply didn't have the patience to learn such a delicate art? But Kushina had, and she was more jumpy than he was. So he guessed that maybe it had something to do with the former.

A few minutes later, the ship touched shore. As Naruto inspected the island, he saw that it was bigger than he had first thought.

Kushina came walking and stopped next to him, also looking around. It did not look good. There were still some debris present from who knows what, and that was just the shore. There was what appeared to be a forest growing, so it blocked what was beyond the shore. But from the shore alone, it basically didn't look good.

"You're impossible, you know that?" commented Kushina.

Naruto knew what she was talking about, but it wasn't his fault. Fuka came onto him…well sort of. But once again, he wasn't going to turn that down. He would have to be gay to do so, and he clearly wasn't.

Naruto simply shrugged in response.

Kushina sighed, but didn't say anything else. What could she say?

Behind them, Mito glanced at Fuka. "Do you regret it?" asked Mito.

Fuka shook her head the next second. "Hell no. I was a bit out, but I was conscious enough to remember how it felt. And let me tell you, did it feel good!"

Mito shook her head. Who would have thought that that little girl that she had picked up would turn like this?

"By the way," began Fuka, "did you know what was in that thing that bastard put in my drink? I've never before been affected by a poison. Well, not that I've been poison that often, especially just simply for trying to get in my pants! That bastard must have been really desperate."

Mito nodded. "Yeah, although I'm not sure yet. Once we're done here, I'll be able to examine it more closely. Especially since it's strong enough to bypass our strong immune system. That's not something you would come along very often."

It was Fuka's turn to nod, "Yes, but how did that bastard get it in the first place?"

"I don't know…." muttered Mito. She hated not having all the facts. Just like of not knowing just how exactly the invasion force was able to get through Uzu's defense. All she could think of was a spy within their ranks, but that was impossible! The uzumaki clan had always been united! Never had a civil war taken place between themselves, or any other conflict of that sort. So how….?

Mito shook her head. She would worry about that later. She had almost forgotten, but thankfully she now remembered.

"Alright, let's go," ordered Mito, making her way out of the rented ship, the rest following.

The four uzumakis walked through the sandy shore and before long, they were making their way through the small forest. And what was beyond that, well it shocked everyone but Mito.

"W-what is this?" said Kushina, looking at the desolated land. There were still partially destroyed buildings present, although they looked like they would fall apart any second. The ground itself was an ashy black. It seemed like it was burned, however that happened.

Fuka for her part could only stare in shock. True, she had never really cared or thought about where she had come from, but still. To think that the place where she was from was reduced to this….

Naruto merely looked around, an emotionless look on his face.

"Let's go," said Mito quietly. It had been awhile since she herself had been here as well, but she had still seen it before, so she was more prepared for the sight. But the first time that she had seen it, well she couldn't blame either Kushina or Fuka for how they were feeling at the moment. But Naruto….she had no idea as to what he was thinking at the moment.

"What are we looking for? Or are we simply just going to walk randomly?" asked Naruto.

Mito glanced back at him. "We're looking a scroll that contains a jutsu."

"What sort of jutsu?" asked Naruto.

"It's an old jutsu that is the greatest fuinjutsu that the uzumaki clan has ever created," stated Mito.

"Oh?" said Naruto, now really interested. "Why is it still here?"

Mito looked forward again. "It was lost after the invasion took place. Kushina's father, the clan head at the time, hid it somewhere, but I don't know where he did."

Naruto suddenly stopped walking. "Wait, wait, hold up a second," he said and looked at his mother. "Your father was the clan head?"

Kushina rubbed the back of her head and chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess I forgot to tell you that, didn't I?"

The rest sweatdropped when they heard that.

Mito shook her head. "You didn't tell him that?"

"I said I forgot, didn't I…." muttered Kushina.

'Wow….' thought Fuka, a sweatdrop still present.

Naruto sighed. "Alright, so my grandfather was the clan head then…damn I'm awesome."

Mito chuckled. "Yeah, but the point still stands that I currently have no idea as to where he hid it. It was the same with the last time that I was here."

Naruto nodded, understanding. "I see."

Before anymore conversation could take place, footsteps nearby could be heard.

"I thought this place was deserted," said Naruto, although more quietly.

Mito narrowed her eyes. "It is, although that's how it was suppose to be."

Kushina scowled. "Trespassers then, huh."

'This could shed some light as to how the invasion force bypassed Uzu's defenses,' thought Mito. With that in mind, she headed towards the footsteps.

"Where is she going?" asked Fuka.

Neither Naruto nor Kushina answered. They simply followed Mito. Seeing no other alternative, Fuka herself followed along.

* * *

><p>Mito landed on top of a small hill composed of more ash which probably belonged to some building, but she wasn't concerned about that at the moment. She gazed down below and her eyes narrowed once again. 'Anbu?' she thought. And indeed, down below on ground level, about five squads of anbu were currently searching through the debris in the area. 'But anbu from where….?'<p>

Both Naruto and Kushina quietly landed beside her, and a second later, Fuka landed behind them, just as quietly.

Naruto's eyes flashed in anger as he recognized the anbu present. "This is Danzo's Root division," he growled out.

'So it's Danzo,' thought Mito. 'But what does he have to do with this? And what is he looking for, sending his anbu here? But most of all, how did he even know how to get past the defenses!?'

"That bastard…." muttered Kushina.

'This wasn't on the scroll,' thought Naruto, remembering the scroll with information on Danzo's business, both in the past and the present. 'Could that root member have tricked us!?'

**"No, that's not possible. Something tells me that this is top secret to where Danzo doesn't have it on file, or tells anyone else other than the ones present in the operation. Even then, the information they receive might be minimal at best."**

"What are we going to do?"asked Fuka quietly.

"We're going to kill them of course," answered Mito. "But keep at least one of them alive. We need to know what Danzo is up to in here."

"They have a seal put on them that prevents them from talking," said Naruto to the others.

"Then how did you get that anbu to give you all that information?" asked Kushina.

"It was thanks to Kurama," responded Naruto. "The genjutsu that was placed on him override the seal completely, making it completely useless at all, unless the genjutsu were to be removed."

"How so?" asked Fuka.

Naruto shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure, but it seems that the 'wires' in a sense that that curse seal has that are connected to the brain to destroy it immediately if anyone of them talks are deactivated. Probably because the person is no longer himself, just simply a puppet with human flesh and no rational thought process."

'Interesting,' thought Mito, glancing at Naruto for a moment before turning her attention down below again. "Well then, shall we?"

Both Naruto and Kushina grinned as they brought out their swords. Fuka merely ran a hand through her long hair as if to say 'Anytime.'

Mito nodded, and the four jumped down below.

* * *

><p>Down below the surface, Kabuto was up to his old tricks, or better tricks really.<p>

Thanks to the scroll that Orochimaru had left behind concerning both uzumaki defenses as well as to where the jutsu that he was after was located in, he was now really close to the fuinjutsu's location. Of course, he had no idea as to where Orochimaru had obtain the information, but he didn't really much care at the moment. He had also seen Danzo's root anbu searching the ruins of Uzu probably for the same thing that he was, meaning that Orochimaru and Danzo had shared some things after all.

But the scroll did lack on the exact location. Of course he knew the general area, but it would be much easier if he knew where exactly the fuinjutsu was located in. Apparently the old clan head had a series of tunnels running down below from where his old house was located. He then hid the jutsu somewhere in one of these tunnels.

'I just need to find it, and then with the jutsu, along those two, no one will stop me!' thought Kabuto with a smirk.

* * *

><p>The last of the anbu fell with a thud on the ground courtesy of Naruto stabbing him right through his heart.<p>

Fuka herself had been the one who had captured one of them alive, which came of no surprise. She herself was the best for those types of assignments.

"Alright, Naruto, do your thing," said Mito to the only blond and male present.

Naruto nodded and walked over to the captured anbu that was struggling against the ninja wires that were restraining him at the moment.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Kushina with a smirk. "Just be a good boy and this will all be over soon."

But the anbu didn't pay any attention to her. He simply kept on struggling until Naruto kneeled in front of him, his eyes becoming ruby like those of Kurama.

The anbu made the mistake of glancing at him for just a second, and he was caught. He stopped struggling, and just simply laid there.

Naruto then looked at Mito. "He's all yours."

Mito nodded and made her ways towards him. Naruto merely stepped back to allow Mito to do the interrogation.

It was Mito's turn to kneel, and she did it with ease, a feat that surprised those person that were alive and not placed under a genjutsu considering what she was wearing at the moment.

"Alright, listen here," began Mito in a dark authoritative tone, "you're to tell me what exactly you're doing here, understand?"

"Yes," answered the anbu in a monotone tone. And then he continued. "We were ordered by Danzo-sama to search the whole village in search for scroll containing some sort of fuinjutsu."

"How did you get inside the island?" asked Mito with narrowed eyes, moving on with her next question. That was what was bugging her the most. Just how the hell did they get in pass the defense of whirlpools?

"We disable the seals that were generating the artificial whirlpools," answered the anbu, getting a shocked look from both Mito and Kushina.

"How?" asked Mito.

"We were told by Danzo-sama the handseals required to shut them off as if to make it seem as if we were of the uzumaki clan."

That was as far as he got as Mito sliced his head off with a kunai, a look of anger on her face. 'How does Danzo know about that jutsu?' thought Mito. 'And how is it possible to deactivate the seals!? Only an uzumaki knows the right seals and precise chakra needed to do so! I didn't even know that was possible! What's going on here!?'

"Why did you kill him!?" asked Kushina.

"He was useless now," answered Mito as she closed her eyes. "I'm sure Danzo wouldn't have given him anything else other than what he needed to know."

Kushina calmed down when she heard that. That was true. The anbu themselves apparently had no idea what to look for, just simply a scroll. But the fact still remained that Danzo somehow got hold of the information about the jutsu that they were looking for, and that her father hid it somewhere. But from where or whom did he get it from?

Naruto himself was looking around. 'It's too risky to use your chakra right now, Kurama. We don't know who else could be here.'

Kurama nodded within Naruto's mind. **"That is true. Just let Mito handle it. She also has the sensory abilities that you possess when you use my chakra. But still, it's surprising that there is anyone here at all…."**

Naruto didn't reply.

As Mito opened her eyes, there was a more intense form of anger in her face.

"What is it?" asked Fuka.

"We have another trespasser," answered Mito with a growl and started to run towards the center of the village. The others merely followed behind.

* * *

><p>Kabuto started to laugh out loud as gazed at the wall in front of him with the Uzumaki seal on it in the middle. After having unlocked who knows how many secret doors and passages, he had finally arrived. He brought the scroll up to read it one more time before throwing it away, not seeing any use in it any longer.<p>

He brought his hands together and formed the required handseals at a fast pace. The required handseals were about eighty five in total. As he completed the final one, he muttered, **"Kai,"** and the wall before him started to shake. It split in half, and both halves retreated into the walls in their respective sides.

The room within contained exactly what Kabuto was after. Unlike the rest of the tunnels that were simply made out of the earth itself, the room before him was not. The floor, walls, and ceiling were made of marble, all colored in red, with candles as the only light source. How they were still lit, well Kabuto could care less about that right now. And in the middle was one scroll.

Kabuto walked inside, careful of any traps, but there were none. It seemed like the last clan head was confident that anyone who made it to this point was an uzumaki.

'Pity he was wrong,' thought Kabuto as he readjusted his glasses. As he finally reached the center of the room, he picked up the scroll and opened it. His face shone in glee as he kept on reading. Yes! Yes! Yes, this was it! At long last, it was his!

Kabuto chuckled and pocketed the scroll before the snake that was always at his side started to hiss. Kabuto frowned. It seemed that someone else had found this place. Root? The snake hissed again, and Kabuto smirked this time. 'Ah, so it's Naruto-kun? Well, I'm not ready to face him just yet, so I should take my leave now.'

* * *

><p>Mito could only scream in frustration as she and the rest arrived at the now empty room that was simply lit by candles.<p>

"Dammit!" she cursed. "We're too late!"

Naruto frowned as he looked around and smelled the air. It smelled like…snakes!

'Fucking Kabuto!' thought Naruto. 'He was here!'

"I should have checked to make sure that we were the only ones in here when we first arrived!" said Mito in frustration.

Kushina herself was frowning. But what else could she do?

Fuka merely stayed silent, not knowing what to do herself.

"Mito," began Naruto, causing said redhead to look at him, "just what kind of fuinjutsu is in that scroll?"

Before Mito could answer, white zetsu popped out from the ground with a smile on his face.

"You," said Mito.

"Finally found you," said white zetsu with a chuckle.

"How long have you been here?" asked Mito.

"I just arrived a few minutes ago," answered white zetsu. "Your chakra systems are the only ones in the whole island. Well, there is another one nearby, but that one is by one of the ports nearby already. Although it does seem familiar…."

'Kabuto,' thought Naruto. 'We could probably still catch him-'

**"That's highly unlikely. He'll no doubt disappear as soon as he reaches land."**

"You're not the original white zetsu, are you?" asked Kushina.

White zetsu chuckled. "You got me. No, I'm not. I'm one of the clones."

'That would explain why he's sensing abilities aren't the best or that recognized Kabuto's chakra,' thought Naruto.

"And? What are you doing here?" asked Mito.

"We have a problem," answered white zetsu.

Naruto was honestly starting to see that this was not their day.

* * *

><p>Kabuto was a very happy ...umm...snakeman at the moment. And why shouldn't he be? After all that work, he had finally obtained something that even Orochimaru had wanted, but could have never gotten. How long had it taken to find the instructions on how to get through all the secret doors, the required handseals. Orochimaru kept a lot of documents. Too much in fact. Not to mention the perfect opportunity where he could have left the village and no one would pay too much attention once he was gone.

He couldn't have done it before though. He would have been killed if he had, why with Zetsu searching for him. Even he could not fool Zetsu when it came to sensory. That guy was simply the best in that. Or one of the top ones.

But it didn't matter now, reflected Kabuto as he reached one of the ports on his small boat. Not fancy, but it got the job done.

All though there were many questions that even he was concerned with. How did Orochimaru come about all of this information? And why hadn't he tried to obtain the fuinjutsu if he had all of this information in the first place? And why hadn't Orochimaru told him about this? He was lucky enough to have found one report of it that made him search for the whole information.

Oh yes, there were definitely many unknowns here. Could Danzo know any of them? Probably not, seeing as he had failed in obtaining the scroll, not knowing where it was. But on some other things...

But once again, none of that matter right now. Kabuto was the victor of this battle, and he was going to savor it.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Rather quick update, don't you think? Well yeah, I just wanted to get this one out as soon as possible. And here it is!**

**Kabuto is the victor today, ladies and gentlemen. Is it a major victory? Well, just wait and see. He outsmarted everyone else, and that deserves an applause in my opinion.**

**But this chapter opens up a whole new waves of questions, and a whole new mystery. And Mito is not part of this, something that she does not like seeing as she doesn't have all the information this time. Mito, well at least my Mito, is the type of woman that likes to know everything so that no mistakes can be made. Is it a bad trait? In some instances yes it can be but once again, knowledge is power.**

**So yeah, Kabuto is the winner of this chapter, but like I said before, some characters will have the focus on some chapters. So don't judge till the end!**

**And I have a question for you, my readers. And that question is simple: Based on this story, how do you think I feel about Konoha? Yep, that's my question. I'm just curious to see what you're response is going to be, but I think I already know what most, if not all, of you are going to say. But I'm still curious, and answer honestly.**

**I guess that does it for me. If you have any questions, or if something just doesn't make any damn sense, just ask and I'll try to answer it to the best of my ability and as soon as possible.**

**And one last time, tell me what you thought.**

**Till next time**


	36. Day 2: A Girl's Feelings pt I

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…."- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, or Black Zetsu<br>_**"Hmm…."**_**- Dark Naruto  
><strong>**_"Hmm…"_******- Flashback******

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 35:<br>Day Two: A Girl's Feelings**

"So basically what you're telling me is that this kid managed to take down the leader of akatsuki, officially eradicating the organization, killed Jiraiya of the Sennin, used some jutsu that can revive people by summoning the Shinigami without killing him and turning Ame into a chaos center while you along with the other jinchuriki and the rest that are on the kid's side became the 'New Akatsuki' which is why you and Utakata are wearing the akatsuki uniform….did I miss something?"

It was about noon in Kiri at the moment. After having given Mei the light version of things about the situation the day before, and of the things that he knew about, both Yagura and Mei had simply called it a day and focused their attention on where Yagura, along with Utakata and Hotaru, would stay as well as preparing Kiri to take part on the upcoming 'massacre.'

Mei didn't even consider the upcoming confrontation with Konoha as a war. It was three villages against one! And while Konoha would have been able to survive against such odds in the past, the previous Shinobi Wars having shown that, Mei really doubt it that they could pull it off again. And why was that? The answer was simple. The only reason that they had managed to prevail against such odds in the past was because they had strong ninja within their ranks to pull it off. Even Mei had to agree that a lot of powerful shinobi came out of that village. Legends such as Hatake Sakumo, 'The White Fang' of the Leaf, having produced a strong son as well-'The Copy Cat' Kakashi, being the student of another legend as well. And that legend was the 'The Yellow Flash,' Namikaze Minato who was also taught by another legend, Jiraiya. And Jiraiya himself was taught by 'The God of Shinobi,' Sarutobi Hiruzen, who also taught two other legends, Tsunade and Orochimaru. And Hiruzen was taught by both the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage, legends among legends.

So, all in all, Konoha had it's full share of legends. And brains as well. But now, they were at the bottom. The only legend that they had left was Tsunade. All the rest had died. Not to mention the fact that the village had been destroyed, by the son of their most praised 'hero!' So counting that into the equation, Konoha really was at it's weakest. And with the other villages planning to gang up on it at this time, well Konoha was pretty much fucked. There was the possibility of Suna joining them, which would be a big favor for Konoha. But even then, it wasn't just the villages that were on Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri's side. They had the bijuus, members from extremely powerful clans, but most of all, they had the rinnegan on their side.

Yagura nodded his head at Mei's paraphrasing what he had just told her. They had agree to meet the next day yesterday for Yagura to explain things more in detail. Well at least what he knew of anyways. And that was what brought us to the current situation.

Mei sighed in exasperation as she leaned back on her chair. "This is all just too crazy to believe…." she muttered.

Yagura sighed when he heard what she said, not that he didn't agree. He himself wasn't expecting to come back to life, and not under these circumstances either! "Believe me, I agree with you completely on that, but it's all true."

Mei tilted her head to the side. "You know, I'm becoming quite interested with this Uzumaki Naruto," she commented with some humor laced on her tone.

Yagura merely raised an eyebrow at that admission from the redhead. "Really? You're not starting to have a crush, are you?"

Mei snorted at that. "Seriously? I would have thought that you would know me better than that. I just said that I was interested. That doesn't mean that I have any romantic interest. I'm not a fangirl."

Yagura raised his arms in defense. "Sorry. I was just saying…."

Before Mei could respond, there was a knock at her door.

"Enter," simply said Mei and Ao came walking inside with a troubled look on his face. "Is there something wrong, Ao?" asked Mei, seeing the troubled look on one of her best shinobi.

"Mizukage-sama," began Ao, "it seems as if we have intruders."

Mei merely raised an eyebrow.

* * *

><p>In underground Uzu, things were a bit more tense at the moment. Okay, a lot more tense. But that was to be expected. One of the Uzumaki clan's prized treasure had just be stolen. Not a good thing, and every other clan could agree with that when it came to their own secrets as well. But that was pushed to the side for the moment as another problem had arisen.<p>

Naruto could sigh in what appeared to be annoyance from hearing what white zetsu was telling him and the rest.

"This could be a problem," stated Mito with a serious look on her face. After having been beaten by Kabuto the way she was, she was not a happy woman at the moment. And now another annoyance had to show up. Wonderful…

White zetsu chuckled. "Well, I simply find it amusing. You sure have a way with women, Naruto…."

"I didn't even do anything," replied Naruto with a shake of his head and with amusement present in his voice. But it was true. Besides Sasuke, it seemed like as if all the other males in the world had to work to get fangirls. But now he could be added to that list. Was that a good thing? Well, from the problem that that this 'skill' had brought, Naruto had to say that it was not. It was annoying if anything.

"Well, what are we going to do about this?" asked Kushina with a frown on her face.

"Where is the real you?" asked Mito to white zetsu.

"With Obito," answered white zetsu. "He's still on his way to Kiri."

"He should have been there by now," said Mito, remembering the teleportation jutsu that Obito possessed.

"He's taking his time," replied white zetsu with a grin, "saying that there was no reason to rush it."

Mito shook her head. "I should have known…."

"This still leaves us with this new problem," said Naruto as he stepped forward towards white zetsu. "What is Neji doing?"

"Nothing," responded white zetsu. "He's simply waiting for you to deal with this. It is kind of your problem. I would suggest that you hurry though. That girl is an impatient one, I can tell that much," finished white zetsu with a chuckle.

Hyuuga Hinata…she was the source of the new problem at the moment. The group had just learned of her confronting Neji about as to where Naruto was, and demanded to be taken there. And if Neji didn't comply, then Hinata would simply tell Tsunade that Neji was a traitor which would lead to Neji being interrogated and in turn her knowing where Naruto was in the long run. Was it beyond crazy? Perhaps, but the fact still remained that this was a major problem. Neji was a good source of information and a future source for sabotage. That was what Naruto was planning on having both Neji and Anko do once the major fighting began. Leak all tactical plans to them and sabotage Konoha anyway possible. That would certainly give them the upper hand.

But now that was in danger, and all because of one girl. As a Nara would simply say it, troublesome….

"It seems as if I have to return to Konoha again," stated Naruto.

"But that's dangerous," countered Kushina. "With what you did to the village, reconstruction is most likely taking place. Not to mention the fact that they will most probably have their security more tight now in the off chance that you do return to finish the job."

Naruto nodded. "I know that, but it can't be helped. We can't allow our plans to be hindered just because of something as stupid as this."

"Naruto is right," added Mito. "Dealing with this as soon as possible before it becomes even more of a problem than it already is is the best way."

Kushina sighed, but nodded reluctantly. They were right, but that didn't mean that she had to like it. Things were already complicated enough with Kabuto having the strongest fuinjutsu that the Uzumaki clan had created in his possession. They didn't need anything else to go against them.

"How are we going to do this then?" asked Fuka, speaking for the first time since white zetsu had arrived.

"I'm going to be returning to Konoha alone," answered Naruto while looking at her. "The chances of being caught are decreased by me going alone. It would be too annoying for Konoha too interfere right now."

Mito nodded, agreeing as well. "Yes, that's the best move. Going as a group would only cause problems."

"Then what are we going to do then?" asked Kushina with another frown.

"We're going to join with Obito," responded Mito with a sigh. "It seems that he's a lazy one unless properly _motivated_."

The way she said motivated caused Naruto to pity the Uchiha. After all, it obviously wasn't the good kind of motivation that Mito was talking about here.

"This would also give me the time analyze the poison," further added Mito, looking at Fuka who simply nodded.

**"Brat…."**

'I know….'

Naruto turned his head to look up at the ceiling with narrowed eyes, bringing the attention of all the others present, although white zetsu could already guess as to what caused this action brought about by Naruto.

"What is it?" asked Mito to Naruto, noticing the movement of Naruto narrowing his eyes. That was not a good sign. Both Kushina and Fuka merely looked at Naruto with a questioning gaze.

"We have more company," responded Naruto which also caused Mito to narrow her eyes. After having dealt with both Kabuto and Danzo trespassing her homeland, she had it with 'company.'

Whoever it was better have a good reason for being here, or there would be hell to pay….

* * *

><p>"Uzu, huh…."<p>

Mei nodded her head to the obvious observation that Yagura had just made. She was currently standing on the deck of the main ship of the armada that Kiri possessed alongside Yagura, her arms crossed under her breasts, the action making her breasts be pushed up. And that was something that caused many, if not all, of the male Kiri shinobi currently stationed on the ship to be extremely distracted by the beautiful sight brought about by their own hot Mizukage. But on to serious matters, Kiri did possess something that the other villages didn't, and that was a navy. A fleet at that!

"That's right. Although I haven't seen it in years," replied Mei softly. After having been told by Ao of a group of individuals that had been reported to be able to get through the barrier of whirlpools, Mei had assembled a small force to investigate, Yagura following her because he was interested as well.

"Oh?" said Yagura as he glanced at the young redhead. "I didn't know that you were interested in Uzu…."

Mei silently snorted at that. Who wouldn't be interested in Uzu? Well before its destruction of course. Now that thought brought a frown upon the young Mizukage's face. This was a reminder of a particular dark event in Kiri's history and that was having taken part in the force that destroyed the Uzumaki clan.

Of course she hadn't been the Mizukage at the time. No, the leader of Kiri had been the Sandaime Mizukage, a man that no one knew a single thing about. And Mei wasn't just thinking about the other villages. No, she was thinking about the residents within Kiri itself, both civilians and shinobi alike. How he came into power was something that Mei honestly didn't know.

But what she did know was that she din't like or agree with that particulate decision made by the Sandaime Mizukage. Her own clan was related to the Uzumakis. They were basically her family. But they had been eradicated by the same people that she was now protecting with her life. No, that wasn't true. Shinobi merely followed their respective leader, and civilians didn't know a single thing about shinobi affairs. Well, that was how things were in Kiri. In reality, the Sandaime Mizukage was the one responsible for Kiri having taken part in that attack. But of course, there was nothing that she could do about it now. The man was dead, or as far she knew, he was dead. There still were a lot of speculations as to how that man had died. His whole life was basically a mystery.

It was the same deal with Yagura. At first, Mei had hated Yagura with her whole life. And why had that been the case? The answer to that was because of Yagura's order of exterminating all the bloodline users within Kiri and The Land of Water as a whole which then caused the civil war to occur, she had lost her parents. But as it turned out, he had just simply been a pawn for someone else. And that someone else had apparently been already killed. That was the reason why she had requested for the body to be brought to Kiri. So that she could see the man responsible for her losing her family and curse him in person even though he was already dead. Was it selfish? Maybe it was, but Mei was still human, and humans were all selfish, some just more than others.

"You should already know that the Terumi clan is a branch that split itself form the Uzumaki clan because of our failure in not mastering fuinjutsu to the extent that they did," stated Mei. "Those members were more skilled at combining their chakra natures to form new elements rather than seals."

'And that's where you get your two bloodlines from,' thought Yagura. 'The **Yoton **and the **Futton**.'

Those were two unique skills to possess admitted Yagura to himself.

"Before long, they named themselves the Terumi clan. They still kept friendly relations with the Uzumakis since they never tried to stop the members from leaving. They understood their reasoning and actually encouraged them. So for me to not take any interest at all about the homeland of old relatives of mine…well, I would have to be a cold person," finished Mei calmly.

Before the conversation could go any further, Ao appeared behind Mei. "Mizukage-sama," stated Ao.

"What is it Ao?" asked Mei as she momentarily glanced at him.

"We have the location of the trespassers," replied Ao, taking a pause before continuing. "They are currently heading to what appears to be medium size civilian ship that they most likely used to travel to get here."

Mei nodded. "Good. Tell the captain to take us to their location at once."

Ao bowed. "Hai." He then disappeared.

"Something tells me that this is going to be interesting…." muttered Yagura.

Mei, who heard him, had to agree with him.

* * *

><p>"Well, well, isn't this a mess?"<p>

**"Perhaps this could have been avoided if you had just simply arrived here sooner instead of going on to Konoha for 'sight seeing.'"**

Obito actually looked shocked at black zetsu's statement. "Please. That's pretty doubtful…" he muttered. Even if he had delivered Tobi's body to the Mizukage by now, she would have still found out that someone bypassed the seals that created the whirlpools that surrounded the entire island of Uzu. There were, after all, ports all over the place. Good spots to plant spies. Besides, because of his 'sight seeing' how the reconstruction of Konoha was going, he was able to learn about the little drama going on between the hyuuga and his cousin.

**"Is it?"**

Obito shrugged. "I have no clue," he simply stated. Currently we find Obito alongside Zetsu watching the small navy force of Kiri heading towards the shore of Uzu where a medium sized civilian ship was anchored in from a high rooftop on the mainland. Civilians themselves had stopped to see what was going to happen.

Obito then saw who he recognized as Naruto, Mito, Kushina, and Fuka walk from the center of the island towards the shore.

Obito smirked. "I guess that's my cue…"

Black zetsu sighed while white zetsu grinned.

* * *

><p>"So much for not being noticed," muttered Fuka as she watched the small force of about five naval ships stop all along the shore.<p>

Mito sighed. 'So it's Kiri then, just as I suspected….'

Both Naruto and Kushina merely stared at the ships in silence.

Back on the main ship, Yagura's eyes widened partially in surprise as he recognized one of the four individuals, and as did Mei's as she saw the akatsuki uniform that Kushina was wearing. "Wait," he said, causing Mei to turn to look at him with a questioning look on her face, although she could guess as to why Yagura had just said that. "One of the redheads down there, I know who she is."

"And?" said Mei.

"She's on our side, okay?" responded Yagura while motioning towards Kushina. "You see the akatsuki uniform that she's wearing, don't you?"

Mei didn't reply to that. She merely asked, "Then who are the rest?"

At this, Yagura frowned. "That, I don't know…."

Before anything could happen, both sides turned to a vortex appearing in between both sides. A second later, and Obito appeared out of the vortex with a grin on his face. "Alright, hold it!" he declared while raising both of his arms.

Mito sighed. 'Just why did you choose this guy Madara….?' she asked herself.

Mei frowned as she looked at the new arrival.

"Ah," said Yagura, recognizing Obito, "he's another one that is on our side. He's most likely the person that Mikoto-san sent to send you the body of the dead uchiha that was controlling me."

'I see….' thought Mei while motioning for her shinobi to stand down for the moment.

"You're late," stated Naruto to Obito.

Obito merely shrugged. "Better late than never."

The conversation stopped as they noticed an attractive redhead coming out of one of the ships followed by who they recognized as Yagura except for Mito and Fuka and some other shinobi with an eye patch on his right eye, and made her way towards them.

Obito started to walk towards her as well. "Sorry I'm late, but I'm the person who's suppose to show you the corpse," he stated.

Mei and the rest stopped walking and stopped in front of Obito and the rest. "I see," said Mei with a nod before looking at the rest. "And you, just what exactly do you think that you are doing here?" she asked them with narrowed eyes.

"I can explain that," answered Mito as she stepped forward. "But I understand that you have currently decided to take part in destroying Konoha." At Mei's nod, Mito continued. "Then I'll explain everything to you once we're out of here," she finished.

"Who are you?" asked Mei.

Mito smirked slightly. "I'm Uzumaki Mito."

Mei's eyes widened to an almost comical degree, having recognized the name. And how could she not? Uzumaki Mito, the same kunoichi that she had read and heard about that inspired her to become a strong and serious kunoichi so that one day, she too could become known worldwide and respected. After all, the strongest kunoichi of the entire history of the shinobi world was a great person to look up to since there weren't many females that young kunoichi could look up to. But with the coming of 'peace,' the skills of kunoichi had really gone down the drain.

Yagura merely gave Mei an amused glance before turning his gaze to the silver haired individual, noticing the rinnegan eyes. 'Is that….?'

**"Ah, so it seems that the Old Man has done it."**

'Done what, Isobu?' asked Yagura to his bijuu.

**"Why, giving Naruto his blessing of course."**

'Blessing? What do you mean by 'blessing?''

**"It's simple,"** responded the three tailed turtle. **"Naruto has now become the Nidaime Rikudo Sennin."**

Yagura's eyes simply bugged out at that.

Naruto for his part began to walk towards the ship that Mito had rented, intent on taking it back to the mainland so that he could return to Konoha as soon as possible.

Seeing this, Kushina began to follow. Fuka merely stood there, not seeing any reason for her to take part in anything. Obito as well. He would have his shot with the sexy Mizukage he told himself, before glancing at Fuka with a smirk. 'On the meantime….'

"I guess this is goodbye for now…." said Kushina quietly as she and Naruto stood by the ship that they had used to get to Uzu. This was going to be the first time that they would actually separate since she had been completely revived. Kushina didn't know that it was going to be this hard. She and Minato had separated all the time because of the Third Shinobi War. Sometimes for months. Once even a year. But she couldn't stand the fact that she was going to be separated from Naruto for two days at the most? What was wrong with her?

In that moment, Kushina realized that she really did love Naruto, but not just simply as a son either. And that she loved him more than she had ever loved Minato.

Naruto didn't say anything. He merely kissed her and held her closely while doing so with Kushina doing the same.

Mito merely gave them a glance and smiled.

Fuka merely stared on and Obito had a grin on his face. 'Bow-Chick-a-Bow-Wow…'

As they ended their kiss, Naruto held onto Kushina for a few more seconds before stepping back. "I'll be back," he stated before heading into the ship.

Kushina merely smiled.

"Let him go," said Mito to Mei.

Mei for her part looked at the silver-haired individual with a great deal of interest. "And who is he exactly?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Mei's eyes widened. "That's Uzumaki Naruto?"

Mito nodded. "Yes, it is. He's the one behind all of this, so I suggest that you let him leave. And even if you don't, I doubt that you could stop him either."

Mei merely nodded.

* * *

><p>Within the civilian ship, Naruto made all the necessary preparations to sail back to the mainland, but his mind was also plagued as to how he was going to deal with the situation with Hinata.<p>

**"Just how exactly do you plan on keeping her mouth shut other than killing her?"**

Naruto honestly didn't know the answer to that yet.

* * *

><p>Neji sighed to himself as he was currently laying back on a tree within a training ground in Konoha, trying to come up with a solution to the new problem that had arisen.<p>

So apparently there had been someone spying on both him and Anko that night about two nights ago. And Anko hadn't been playing around or just simply being too paranoid, but someone had actually been listening to their conversation. And that someone had been Hinata.

Neji scowled to himself. He should have checked himself to see if anyone had really been present there once Anko threw that kunai. But he had just thought that it was simply nothing, and it was all just in Anko's head. He never should have doubted Anko. Stealth and the sort were in fact her specialties thanks to her being the apprentice of Orochimaru. And there was also that patrol that had made him simply forget about the whole ordeal with the bush. Tsunade had been sending more and more of those missions. In fact, those were all the missions that were taking place at the moment. Of course that would only last until things stabilize again.

But back to the problem at hand. Hinata was a wild and loose card at this point. And the only one who could tame her was Naruto. But Neji never realized that Hinata would ever go this far for Naruto just because she simply had a crush on him. But it seemed that it wasn't just a crush anymore, but bordering on obsession now.

Neji the thought of when Hinata had confronted him.

* * *

><p><strong>FLASHBACK: START!<strong>

_Neji could only stare in shock at his cousin at the moment. But why shouldn't he? She had just accused him of treason, something that he very much knew that he was doing with siding with Naruto, but that didn't matter to him. Naruto had promised to tell him everything, all the truth. And that was the one thing that Neji wanted the most._

_How long had he lived in the dark about not knowing the actual truth about his father? No, he din't want to be ignorant anymore. All the secrets that Konoha had, every single one of them, he wanted to know them all. And that was why he had agreed to join Naruto. But how the hell did Hinata know that he was on Naruto's side in the first place?_

_There really was no point trying to lie, realized Neji. Just looking at Hinata's determined face told Neji that she already knew hat he was in fact on Naruto's side and not Konoha's, and that she could not be lied to in that regard._

_"How do you know that?" asked Neji, calming himself down and deciding to get right to the point._

_"I followed you that night, Neji-nii-san," explained Hinata without stuttering. "I had already noticed that you were acting strangely lately, going back to being cold like you use to be before Naruto-kun defeated you in the Chunnin Exams three years ago. So I decided to see what was bothering you to see if I could help you. But imagine my surprise when you actually met with Mitarashi Anko and started talking about what to do now that Fu," Neji raised an eyebrow when he saw with how much disgust Hinata said the name, "was out of the village, as well as Danzo. It was all obvious by then. You and Anko, and who knows if anyone else within Konoha, are on Naruto-kun's side. But I don't care. All I want is for you to tell me where Naruto-kun is right now."_

_"And if I don't?" asked Neji._

_Hinata shrugged. "I'll simply tell Tsunade that you and Anko are traitors in which then you'll both be interrogated for information as to where Naruto-kun is. And once one of you gives it up, I'll know where he is. This is just simply the easier way."_

_Neji could only once again stare at his cousin in shock. Just what the hell happened to sweet, little, innocent Hinata!? This resembled nothing like her old personality! Just…what the hell?_

_Neji sighed as he calmed himself down. "I can't tell you anything." Seeing Hinata narrow her eyes dangerously, an act which once again surprised Neji greatly since he didn't know that his cousin could pull that off but pushed it to the side, he added, "I can't tell you anything because Naruto said to stay put and not make a single move or do anything at the moment. And that includes trying to get new recruits since it's obvious that you want to join him. It's too dangerous. The best I can do is to tell him that you want to join him once he contacts me again."_

_Hinata was silent for a few moments, processing the information, before slowly nodded. "I see. Well I don't want to do anything that will endanger Naruto-kun. Alright. I'll wait. But don't try to pull anything," finished Hinata dangerously._

_Neji merely nodded. "I got it."_

**FLASHBACK: END!**

* * *

><p>Neji could only once again be shocked as to how much Hinata's personality had changed in a really short amount of time! Was that even possible? Not only that, but how could she forget what he had done to Kiba and Choji? And Konoha as well? How could she just simply forget it? Was it all because of her crush? Because if it was, then it simply was not right.<p>

Neji's mind then drifted to the conversation that he had with Anko this morning.

* * *

><p><strong>FLASHBACK: START!<strong>

_"What do you want Neji? I thought that we had already established that it's not safe meeting like this," said Anko as she munched on a dango. Currently the interrogator and jonin were sitting on one of the few reconstructed buildings and that was a small dango restaurant although besides themselves and about three other customers, no one else was present._

_Neji sighed. "I know that, but if anyone asks, we can simply say that I wanted some tips for entering anbu because I was interested."_

_Anko raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you?"_

_Neji shook his head. "Hell no, but it's a good excuse."_

_Anko chuckled as she began to eat on another stick of dango. "I think that that would be a good idea, you joining anbu. You'll get access to a lot more juicy information than just a regular jonin."_

_"There's also the fact that I won't be able to move as freely as I do now," retorted Neji. "But wether or not I want to join anbu is not why I asked you to meet me."_

_"Then what is?" asked Anko. "And get to the point quickly. I want to enjoy my dango."_

_Neji nodded, before pausing for about three seconds, and just simply stated, "Hinata knows that you and me are really working for Naruto and are not allied to Konoha."_

_Anko merely stared at Neji blankly for about four seconds, before sighing. "The bush, huh…."_

_Neji nodded at that. "Yeah, that was her. I should have checked as well!"_

_Anko shook her head. "Forget it. No use dwelling on the past. The point is, what are we going to do now?"_

_"I don't know," answered Neji. "She wants to apparently join Naruto, but he didn't include her for a reason."_

_Anko chuckled. "Because she's useless."_

_Neji shook his head. "I don't know about that anymore. She's like a completely different person now. It's actually kind of scary…."_

_Anko smirked at that. "Awe. Is the little Hyuuga scared? Want me to hold you and give you a big kiss?"_

_Neji's eyebrows twitched. "That's not the point here! We need to inform Naruto of this immediately."_

_Anko became serious at that. "My suggestion is that we kill her and empty out the body somewhere where no one will ever find it."_

_Neji scoffed at the suggestion. "Are you forgetting the fact that she's a Hyuuga? But not any kind of Hyuuga, but the clan heiress? There would be an ongoing investigation that could bring up many other unnecessary problems."_

_Anko sighed. "Then what do you suggest that we do?"_

_Before Neji could respond, someone pulled over a third chair and sat between Neji and Anko. "I believe that I can help you with your problem…."_

_Neji's face became troubled. 'Crap,' he thought while glancing around, 'while it's true that almost no one is around here right now, we should have checked that no one was eavesdropping on us. And now…..'_

_"Who the fuck are you?" asked Anko to the newcomer._

_The male chuckled. "I'm Uchiha Obito. And don't worry, I'm on your side which is why I said that I could help you."_

_Neji's face became surprised, remembering how Naruto had told him, Anko, and Fu who was involved after having defeated Hidan. 'So this is him….'_

_Anko grinned. "Little Obito, huh? You know, I wasn't quite sure that I believed the gaki when he had said that you were a part of this. I thought that you were dead…."_

_Obito shrugged. "It's a little complicated. Maybe I'll explain things to you on a later date. Though I am flattered that you still remember me."_

_Anko chuckled at that. "Just what are you doing here anyways?" she asked him._

_"Oh, just sightseeing..."_

_"Alright," began Neji before the conversation could continue between the two, "just how do you plan on helping us?"_

_Obito smirked. "I'll tell Naruto what has happened. Don't worry, he'll be here today to fix the situation. But if you excuse me, I have somewhere to be at the moment." With that, he got up from the chair that he was sitting on and made to exit the restaurant, only to be stopped by Neji._

_"And how do you plan on doing that?" asked Neji._

_Obito merely smirked again. "Trust me…."_

**FLASHBACK: END!**

* * *

><p>And trust him Neji did. Not that he had too many choices to begin with.<p>

But for now, all Neji could do was to wait for Naruto just like Obito had said.

* * *

><p>Kabuto merely walked down a road near the border of The Land of Water that led back to Konoha at a moderate pace. There was no reason for him to hurry. Naruto and the others couldn't track him. He had made sure of it. Destroying all scent particles as well as stop any chakra that was subconsciously released all the time to not be released anymore were just a simple matter to do. Orochimaru had come up with many different drugs that could do both of those things, and many other ones as well. Orochimaru had always been on the run after all.<p>

Even Zetsu would have problems trying to track him at the moment, but it would not last for long. But Kabuto was confident that Zetsu would not be used to track him. They already knew where he was heading, so there was no point. Not to mention the fact that they would also meet in the battlefield, Kabuto was sure of that. But right now, he needed to focus on his own preparations.

How long did he have? Kabuto looked up at the sky to see that the sun was heading west, meaning that it was beginning its short journey of setting down, meaning that it was in the afternoon already.

So he had about a day with an extra few hours realized Kabuto. Not relatively long, but he'll make it work even if he had to stay up working all night tonight. He needed to be ready for the next time he and Naruto would meet, and that was definitely going to be at the Kage Meeting. But of course, Naruto wouldn't be his only problem.

* * *

><p>Unlike Kabuto, Naruto was not walking at a moderate pace. Rather he was currently on the trees, hopping from tree branch to tree branch at an incredible speed. Apparently his natural speed had doubled now and thanks to him knowing exactly where he was going, he could go at full speed.<p>

**"Oi, are you sure that you don't want to use my chakra for this?"**

Naruto shook his head as he continued on his way. 'No, it's too damn risky right now. Besides, I want to see what else I can do right now.'

Kurama scoffed within Naruto's mind. So that was why the brat didn't want to use his chakra, just to see what he was capable of. Well he supposed that he couldn't blame him for that. Kurama then directed his gaze to one of the tunnels within Naruto's mind and narrowed his eyes.

The Juubi….it was here too, Kurama knew that. Naruto had made sure to keep the the revived beast at a separate location though. All that Kurama had done was to give Naruto his chakra to complete the said beast. That being said, the beast was currently still not completely at it's strongest seeing that for it to be revived at it's strongest, all of the chakra from each bijuu was needed, and not just a parts from each bijuu.

But Naruto had said that that would have many drawbacks. One being that he would have had lost the power from the rest of the jinchuriki, including his own as well. It wasn't like he had to rely on the untrustworthy beast either. Naruto had plenty of other cards up his sleeve.

'You know,' began Naruto, catching Kurama's attention, 'there is one thing that I haven't tried yet.'

**"And that is?"**

Naruto smirked as he momentarily closed his eyes, before opening them. But they weren't his usual rinnegan eyes. No, they were the sharingan. The mangekyo to be exact. It's shape was identical to that of Itachi's except that unlike Itachi's, Naruto's eyes changed from that to red and black, to black and red. And also unlike Itachi's mangekyo, Naruto's shuriken was four-bladed and not three-bladed.

Seeing where his host was going with this, Kurama protested. **"I told you that that's too risky brat. Just because I managed to trigger your activation of the rinnegan, you still don't possess the eternal mangekyo meaning that the more you use that eye, the more you'll be closer to being blind."** That was the major drawback of the mangekyo unless one obtained the eternal. Just why did all great power had to come at a cost?

'You'll be able to postpone that for a long time,' countered Naruto. 'After all, that's what you've been doing ever since I gained the rinnegan as well. You constantly use your chakra to heal me of any damage that I would have.'

**"I don't know how long that's going to last though especially if you start using it."**

'Mikoto must have some sort of backup plan. From what you have told me, you need the sharingan of a relative to unlock the eternal, correct?'

Kurama nodded. **"Yes, but we don't even know whose sharingan she gave you, or if that person even had any relatives whose eyes can be used."**

Naruto momentarily frowned. That was something that Mikoto had yet to explain. Just how in the world had she managed to obtain all that collection of sharingans that she had? But he would ask her later. Right now, arriving at Konoha as soon as possible and dealing with Hinata was his top priority.

'I don't have a choice Kurama,' simply said Naruto in a tone that said that the conversation was over. Kurama merely sighed. He wouldn't be able to talk the brat out of this. He was as stubborn as his mother alright.

'Now,' thought Naruto, 'something that can help me here….' He stopped his tree hopping and merely stopped on one of the tree branches and concentrated all of his focus on his mangekyo. 'Just give me something!' he thought before disappearing in what appeared to be a black light.

* * *

><p>Juubi merely stared at the new arrival with a studying gaze. He recognized the overall appearance, but this one appeared to be more dark than the one outside.<p>

Dark Naruto grinned as he looked at the great bijuu within the empty dark space of nothingness. His appearance had changed as well. Unlike Naruto, he now had deep black hair and his outfit was black and red, not grayish and black. His eyes were the usual Kurama like color.

**"You….what are you doing here?"**

Dark Naruto shrugged. _**"This is one of the deeper levels of the other me's subconscious. That's where he's keeping you at the moment. Smart, except that he probably forgot that I'm still here."**_

Juubi merely stared at Dark Naruto with his one eye. **"And? Who are you?"**

Dark Naruto chuckled. _**"Cut the bullshit. I'm sure you know exactly who and what I am. But I'll tell you to humor you. I'm all of the dark essence of Uzumaki Naruto that have been brought to life into me."**_

**"And here I thought that he and you became one….."**

Dark Naruto frowned slightly at that, wondering how the bijuu knew about that. But he nonetheless replied, _**"Yes, we are. But like I said, you are currently in one of the deeper levels of Naruto's mind, levels that I roam."**_ Here, he smirked. _**"And imagine my surprise when I felt a presence even more sinister than mine."**_ Okay, so maybe it wasn't a complete surprise since he also saw and experienced everything that his counterpart did as well, but still. _**"I just knew that I had to pay you a visit,"**_ finished Dark Naruto with a grin.

Juubi let out a snort which would have probably caused trees to be blown away, but seeing as this space had nothing within it, not even air or oxygen, nothing happened. **"I'm sure that this is more than just simply a visit. So tell me what you want before I lose my patience."**

Dark Naruto was silent before chuckling and started to walk away from the ten-tailed bijuu. Before he completely left though, Dark Naruto stopped and turned back to look at the Juubi. _**"Nothing more than to show you that there are better candidates for your power."**_ With that, Dark Naruto disappeared.

Juubi simply looked at the spot where Dark Naruto had been before chuckling darkly to itself.

* * *

><p>Naruto couldn't help to fight back the smirk that appeared on his face as he gazed down the village from his spot on the Hokage Mountain. Why was he smirking? For two reasons: One was that with his mangekyo, his range of traveling using the jutsu of teleportation that involved using the shadows was increased infinitely. He could now travel farther distances than before. For example, without the mangekyo, Naruto could teleport himself to a few miles away from his first spot; with the mangekyo though, he could now travel from Konoha all the way to, let's say Suna, in a matter of seconds!<p>

His teleportation jutsu involved using the things that were made up of darkness itself and that were the shadows. Everything in the world had shadows, some more powerful than others depending on the amount of sunlight that was present. But of course, he range of sensing them to travel through them was limited, but not anymore.

But Naruto had to remember that he couldn't overuse the mangekyo right now, not that he wanted to rely on one thing either. But Kurama was right. Unless he gained the eternal, his mangekyo was too dangerous even though it did provide him with a great advantage for one of his jutsu.

And the second thing that made Naruto smirk was the condition the village was in. It still had a long way to go before it could return to normal. But it would be better if he hurried with what he was doing here. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he was caught.

Using his teleportation jutsu without his mangekyo, Naruto disappeared in a dark flash from the Hokage Monument and headed towards where he knew that Hinata was going to be.

A few seconds later, Naruto appeared to where the old Team Seven training ground was located in.

**"You should be careful. The Hyuuga do possess the byakugan after all."**

'You don't have to tell me that,' shot back Naruto. 'But you forget that I no longer look like I did before.'

**"You still have your whiskers though….."**

Naruto t'ched at that before walking forward. He then jumped onto a tree branch when he heard familiar voices. As he looked at the center of the clearing, Naruto saw the familiar figures of Sakura, Hinata, Tenten, and Ino who was sitting down on one of the posts and also crying at the moment.

"C'mon Ino," said Tenten with a smile, trying to make the crying blonde feel better. "You shouldn't cry too much. I'm sure that your father wouldn't like seeing you like this."

At that, Ino began to cry even more and harder as well, making Tenten look downcast at her failure.

Naruto watched this with amusement. 'Ah, Tenten. One of the less annoying girls that I have ever met.'

"Guys, help me here!" pleaded Tenten as she turned towards both Sakura and Hinata.

Sakura sighed before walking towards Ino and sitting beside her and rubbing her back. "Ino, it's not going to do anyone any good if you just simply continue crying. C'mon, I can take you home."

Ino didn't respond but did stop crying for the most part, although some tears did still continue to fall, and let Sakura guide her towards where her temporary home was located in. Sakura glanced back at both Hinata and Tenten. "I'll see you both later, okay?"

Tenten nodded, and Hinata didn't show any signs that she heard Sakura's voice.

Watching both Sakura and Ino leave, Naruto focused his attention to the last two remaining kunoichi.

"Poor Ino," muttered Tenten.

Hinata did sigh at that, but didn't say anything.

"Are you okay?" asked Tenten as she walked up towards the young Hyuuga.

Hinata nodded. "Yes, there's just too many things happening with the Hyuuga clan is all."

Tenten nodded as well, accepting the excuse and having already come to terms with Hinata's lack of stutter. "Alright. Well I have to go as well. I have things that need to be taken care of. Are you going to be alright here by yourself?"

Hinata simply nodded.

So with a wave, Tenten made her way out of the clearing and back to the village.

'This is my chance,' thought Naruto watching as Tenten left.

**"You still haven't told me what you're planning on doing, you know."**

Naruto jumped down from the tree branch, not answering the bijuu.

Hearing someone land behind her, Hinata turned her head back to see someone that she did not recognize walking towards her. "Can I help you?" asked Hinata.

Naruto stopped in front of her and smirked. "My, you don't even recognize me anymore. And here I thought that you loved me," said Naruto with a pout.

Kurama could only notice that fact with wide eyes within Naruto's seal. **'What. The. Hell?'**

As soon as she she heard the stranger's voice, Hinata's eyes widened as she recognized it immediately. 'Is this….?' Her eyes then took notice of another fact-the person in front of her had six whiskers, three on each cheek. "N-naruto-kun?"

Naruto smirked. "The one and only."

Hinata could only stare at him in shock. She though that Neji had told her that it wouldn't be for awhile before Naruto would establish some sort of contact with him. Had he lied to her? And his appearance...what had happened to it!? And did she hear this correctly? Did Naruto say that she loved him? How did he know that!?

If only she realized that everyone in the village pretty much knew that already….

"Now," began Naruto, trying to get right to the point and finish this as soon as possible, "from what I hear, it seems that you want to join me. Is that right?"

Coming out of her shock, Hinata nodded. "H-hai!" It seems that old habits were kicking in.

**"Oi, do you really plan on having her join you?"**

'Hell no,' answered Naruto. 'It would be too risky. But I do have other ways of making use of this situation.'

**"Then what are you-"**

'Just watch.'

Naruto walked up towards Hinata until he was right in front of her. Hinata's heart was beating faster than it had ever done before by this point. Naruto then placed his right hand on her left cheek, effectively making Hinata melt right there.

'Don't faint!' she thought to herself. Her dream was becoming reality, and dammit, she would not see it end just because she fainted.

"If you want to join me, then you're going to have to prove yourself," stated Naruto softly as he began to rub Hinata's cheek making a blush appear on said girl.

"W-what do I-i need t-to d-do?"

Naruto smirked slightly as he leaned in to whisper into her ear. "What you need to do to prove yourself is too kill the clan head of the Hyuuga clan."

Hinata's eyes widened.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**And this concludes yet another chapter. A pretty good one in my opinion. And I bet a lot of you had completely forgotten about Dark Naruto, but he's still there.**

**And now, to personally answer the question that I had asked all of you the last chapter which surprised me since it seems that you all really do read the author's note….I have to be more careful with what I say then. **

**Now I gotta say that I was surprise at the responses. I was really expecting all of you to say that I just hated Konoha will all my guts. I mean, some of you did in different shapes and forms, but not all you. There were some of you that came close to how I really feel about Konoha. And if none of you care about any of this, then just simply stop reading now because this is sort of a rant.**

**So to answer the question, I have to explain something first. I find it just simply stupid that a lot of people make a big deal about trivial matters. Take the self proclaim 'Narutards' for example. Just because a story is nothing like the original story of Naruto, they all go insane. There's a reason why it's called FANFICTION. Authors are here to publish their own story because of inspiration. And if you don't like it, just simply click on that red x button on your screen and move on with your life. But instead, they have to curse, threat, and say other stupid things at the author just because the story isn't canon. Well no shit! That's the whole point of this damn site! Of course I'm not saying that criticism is wrong, which in not. But that's only if it's based on things like 'this doesn't make sense,' or 'no way this could have happened because of this and that,' and even for grammar as well and things like that. But to just say that you don't like a story because it isn't like the original Naruto?**

**So to sum it up, I find doing things like that to be simply stupid, which brings me up to my next point. All of the characters on every anime are all fictional, so I also find it stupid to 'hate' the character as some people do. Now don't get me wrong, you're entitled to dislike any character on any show for your own reasons. It's natural. But some people just go overboard for no reason either. It's just a fictional character! Do you really think he/she is going to care? He/she doesn't even know that you exist. That being said, out of all the characters in Naruto, there are only two characters that I find just simply annoying. Not hate, just plain annoying.**

**One of them is Obito. The reason being is how he even got to where he is in the first place. He survived a freaking boulder smashing him when he din't even have his mangekyo….add to the fact the whole reason that he turned evil. Just for one girl! He should have just killed Kakashi and be done with it. But instead he had to take out in the whole world. And I'm not trying to be a hypocrite either. The Naruto in my story is doing what he's doing for selfish reasons too, but they're more believable. If anyone of you hasn't figured it out yet, Naruto wants to destroy Konoha because of what they did to him in his childhood. He's just using the betrayal of his clan as a justification. Is that a good thing? Absolutely not, but it makes a lot more sense in my opinion. Naruto is still human, something that a lot of people seem to forget. And humans have the tendency of wanting to get even. And I even liked Tobi, quite honestly. When Obito still had the mask, he was a much better character in my opinion. But ever since he was unmasked, I just find him annoying.**

**And the other character is Sakura. Just….where do I begin with her? Her whole character was basically a complete fail. Even Kishimoto himself when asked in an interview about Sakura said that he had completely forgotten about her. Now, if the author of his/her own story forgets about one of his/her own character that is suppose to be the main 'heroine,' well that says it all.**

**And finally this brings me to the main point-no, I do not hate Konoha. This story is simply just one way of how things could have gone and one way to look at things. Something that I do dislike though is their treatment of Naruto in the past. But other than that, I have nothing against it. I'm simply writing this story because it just came to me one day. Nothing else than that.**

**So that's my answer and my opinions, and I'm entitled to them. I'm also going to say this now, there will be no Naruto/Mito in this story. That was never my intention from day one, and I'm going to stick with that. I have other plans for Mito in that regard, but let me just say that romance is not the main focus of this story. I wasn't even planning on giving Naruto a harem, but I let that be since it really doesn't impact the plot that much.**

**It also seems that this story is becoming a lot more popular lately. And I don't know if that's good or bad. But that's why I went back to fix any grammar errors that I had for like chapter one through six, I think it was. I also added things that I **_**should **_**have added but didn't. But overall the chapters are still the same. I still haven't finished yet though. I plan on going back to fix the rest as well when I get the time.**

**So I guess that does it for me this time. Once more, tell me what you thought.**

**Till next time.**


	37. Day 2: A Girl's Feelings pt II

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<br>**_"Hmm…"_****- Flashback/Memory****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 36:<br>Day Two: A Girl's Feelings pt. 2**

Shock. Bewilderment. Fear. Hope?

Those were the emotions that were currently all jumbled up inside Hinata's mind at the moment. Had she just heard correctly? Or was she there something wrong with her hearing? Naruto, her lifetime crush, no, her lifetime love, had just asked her to kill her own father in exchange for her joining him. Now, how could she respond to that? What would she do? The person who was just a father in title and nothing else, or the person that she loved?

Naruto for his part was in extreme amusement as he watched the internal conflict happening within the young Hyuuga. At first, he had thought that this whole situation with Hinata was just going to be plain annoying, but that was before he had thought of this idea.

Did it really matter wether Hinata succeeded or not in killing her father? No, not at all. If she did succeed, Konoha would simply be in more disarray than it already was with the clan head of an important clan such as the Hyuuga dying. If Hinata didn't succeed, she would be branded as a traitor, and many outcomes could come from that. Of course, there was the chance of her talking if she was interrogated about if she was working alone and as to why she had tried to do what she did, or if the information was forcefully removed, therefore automatically compromising both Neji and Anko. Ibiki existed for that reason after all, but Naruto would simply kill her if it came to that.

But this way was much more fun in Naruto's opinion. He also knew that Hinata would agree. From what he understood, and even then, he still didn't completely understand the whole reason, Hinata was madly in love with him. And he would capitalize on that.

Now having understood what his container was intending to do, Kurama chuckled. **"I see. I must say brat, this is much more devious than I thought that you were capable of, all right. I give you an applause along with my approval."**

Naruto internally chuckled at his bijuu before refocusing at the task in hand. Once more, he began to gently rub Hinata's cheek, causing said girl to come out of her own thoughts and to start blushing again while leaning into the touch.

"Is it really that hard to choose?" asked Naruto softly. "I thought that you loved me…."

Hinata's eyes widened in alarm when she heard that. "I do love you!" she proclaimed without stuttering and a fierce look present on her face. She then realized what she had just said and to whom she had said it to, and her whole demeanor changed back to that of the innocent and shy Hinata that everyone knew and loved. Right?

'D-did I j-just say…?'

Naruto chuckled internally again, but gave a soft smile on the outside. "Then why are you taking so long to decide?" asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow, his hand still gently rubbing Hinata's cheek. "If you really do love me and want to be with me, then do as I say," he finished.

"I-is this the o-only w-way?" asked Hinata in a timid voice, once again just simply enjoying the feeling of Naruto's hand.

Naruto nodded in confirmation. "Yes it is," answered Naruto. "What I'm doing is dangerous, and I just simply want to know that I can trust you." Another lie. Naruto honestly didn't know how he was lying to Hinata this easily and enjoying it as much as he was too. Maybe it was because he just simply didn't care? He didn't care what she thought of him or would think of him in the future. Why? Because he simply didn't care about this girl, period. Was he suppose to? Just because she had romantic feelings for him, he was suppose to respond in kind to them? Naruto honestly had enough with trying to be the good guy. Although he hadn't been that in a long time, he admitted to himself. Maybe he was just simply becoming worse.

But once again, when it came to people like Hinata who he had no feelings for, romantic or friendship-wise, Naruto just didn't care, period.

'I have to do it,' thought Hinata to herself. 'If I do, then I can be with Naruto-kun….' thought Hinata with a bigger blush. That was all that she cared about. After her mother had died, Hinata's life had turned for the worse. Her own father seemed like he didn't care wether she lived or died. All he had attention for was her littler sister, Hanabi. It was like the fact that he had another daughter had left his mind. But then she met Naruto and instantly she fell for him. No matter what adversities he faced, Naruto had never given up and succeeded because of that. Naruto was her strength, the reason that she lived at all, even if he had killed close friends of her.

'I don't care about that anymore,' thought Hinata, thinking about Kiba and Choji. All she wanted was to be with Naruto. And if the only thing that was standing between that and herself was the man that had made her childhood miserable and had basically abandoned her, then Hinata would gladly take him out of the picture if that was required.

"I'll do it," answered Hinata quietly without stuttering once more.

Naruto smiled while internally he was laughing. "Good," he stated while leaning in. 'Now for insurance that she doesn't back out...'

Hinata's heart was once more pounding much stronger than it had when Naruto had first started to rub her cheek as Naruto's lips came closer to hers. 'Don't faint!' she told herself once more.

Kurama merely shook his head before smirking. **"This will end up to be interesting all right. Wether the girl kills her father or not…"**

* * *

><p>Mikoto looked down to see the now fully prepared army from on top of the Raikage building. Things were going good here all right. The army from Kumo was now ready for action which was a good thing and with a day to spare as well.<p>

Now all Mikoto had to do was to wait for Sasuke and his team to make it here, and then they would be able to figure out what was to be done next.

Mikoto wondered what the others were up to at the moment. Last she heard, Naruto with the rest of the Uzumakis were currently resting at one of Mito's safe houses. But that was almost two days ago. She glanced up at the sky to see the sun almost having set already. Another day was now ending. Pity….

Mikoto shook her head. Now was not the time to get all poetic. Even though things were done at her end for the moment, many other things needed to be done still. She only hoped that they would not be faced with any more problems, but that was just a hopeful thought. With how much was at stake, something, or someone, would just make things become more complicated for no damn reason. And even if the person did, it would still be annoying.

"Yo."

Mikoto turned around to see a dark skinned man wearing the usual Kumo jonin attire standing a few feet away with his hands on his pockets. Said dark skinned man also had a big sword strapped to his back. While not as big as Zabuza's, it was still up there in the size department. The man also had shaggy white hair with a very bored look on his face.

"What?" asked Mikoto, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice that she felt from being bothered.

The Kumo jonin sighed. 'Dull…' he thought. 'This woman is going to be dull...' "I'm here by Raikage-sama's order," responded the man with the same bored attitude that his face had. "I'm his right hand man, Darui," he began to explain, "and I suppose I'm also the commander of this army."

Mikoto's eyebrows twitched. 'This guy…?' she thought. He resembled a Nara in attitude! Just how could the Raikage actually have a man like that as his best shinobi!? 'This is not what I had in mind when I asked him about his best shinobi,' thought Mikoto in irritation, before she began to calm herself. Never judge a book by its cover she reminded herself. Just because he looked like a slouch didn't mean that he was one. Well, that was what she hoped for at least.

Mikoto nodded her head. "I see. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Darui. I'm Uchiha Mikoto, you're superior," stated Mikoto with the slightest bit of a smirk present on her face.

Darui could only sigh once again, but his mind was working overtime at the moment. He was suspicious. That was the bottom of things. The Raikage, or the one that he knew at least, would never allow for an outsider to take charge of anything as big as this was. Darui already pretty much knew why the army had been preparing ever since that Uzumaki boy had come to speak to the Raikage. He was, after all, the Raikage's right hand man, meaning that he was told of pretty much everything.

But that was not the point. The point was as to how this woman had acquired the position that she now occupied. Not to mention the fact that said woman was an Uchiha. The Raikage was never fond of that clan, so for this woman to….

Yes, things didn't add up alright. Unless the Raikage had a sudden change of heart, which was highly unlikely. That man was as stubborn as they came.

But Darui didn't have any solid proof at all. Just speculations. And in the shinobi world, acting purely on speculations could be disastrous. So all that Darui could do was to keep his eye open for any proof about the suspicion that he had about the Uchiha woman. Which was way more dull….

Darui merely sighed again.

"You may go," said Mikoto with a wave of her hand. "I will call for you when you are needed."

She had turned around by this point, so she missed the frown that appeared on Darui's face as he began to walk away. 'Acting like she's the boss,' thought Darui with a shake of his head as he began to descend down the stairs. 'So dull….'

What Darui didn't know was that Mikoto was indeed the boss of Kumo at the moment, with the Raikage under her control due to the genjutsu that she had placed on the man.

Mikoto crossed her arms below her breasts as she continued to gaze down at the army. Another thought invaded her mind. And that was the fact that she couldn't believe that she actually missed the little blond idiot. So they had sex, but that was to merely scratch an itch so to speak. And he was Kushina's son as well, who also had sex with her son, with Mikoto joining as well. Talk about kinky...

Mikoto shook her head at that thought. 'Bad girl Mikoto…'

* * *

><p>Tsunade scowled as she looked at the amount of paperwork present on her desk. All the documents were about the construction of the village, supplies that she needed to check, which buildings to approve to be built first, and the like. She then proceeded to pour more sake into another cup, and then proceeded to drown it down. She was currently within her temporary office until the new Hokage building was to be completed, which was under construction, but still not finished.<p>

But no matter what she would do, Tsunade could not concentrate on the paperwork, her drinking sake at the moment was a testament to that. But it was to be expected. Tsunade was confused as hell at the moment.

For one, her grandmother was alive for reasons that Tsunade herself didn't know. That in itself was a major shock.

'It seems that my suspicions about her being up to something were right,' thought Tsunade as she began to drink from the bottle instead of pouring the sake in a cup. But her grandmother was not the only problem. Kushina was another. Just how was she alive as well? The only thing that they both had in common was that they were both working with Naruto.

Naruto….yeah he was definitely the one responsible for both her grandmother and Kushina being alive again, but Tsunade honestly had no idea how the brat had done it. Naruto was also her major source of headaches at the moment.

'You bastards have left me with a terrible mess to deal with,' thought Tsunade as she thought about both the Sandaime and the Yondaime. 'And the problem is, I don't know how to deal with it…'

Tsunade was at her wit's end. She was no longer as young as she once was, no matter how much she appeared to be. She was tired. Not physically, but mentally. And she no longer had Jiraiya with her as well, someone who could she always depend on, besides his perverted nature of course.

Thinking about her deceased teammate made Tsunade think about who killed him, and, of course, that led to Naruto once again.

Tsunade honestly didn't know what to think about Naruto anymore. Did she hate him? Tsunade really didn't know if she did or didn't. He killed Jiraiya of course, but at the same time, she could understand as to why he did it. Why he was doing all of this.

'That old toad still hasn't come back,' thought Tsunade all of a sudden. 'He was suppose to have shed more light for me on this whole 'Child of the Prophecy' thing,' thought Tsunade. Now that thought made her to chuckle bitterly. She of course knew some parts of that whole concept. How couldn't she? One time in the past, Jiraiya had used that as a way for her to go out with him. She had still refused of course, obviously not believing in that prophecy. And she still didn't. Jiraiya was suppose to have had trained the savior of the world. Well that was what he had told her. The only one that came close to that was the Yondaime. But he was dead. And Jiraiya's other apprentice was now trying to cause more destruction instead of trying to end it.

So Tsunade really didn't believe that Naruto could possibly be the this 'Child of the Prophecy.' It was merely ridiculous in her mind. But thinking about the toads made Tsunade have an epiphany which made her feel like she was an idiot. And the epiphany was to use the toads to locate Naruto.

'Why hadn't I thought of this?' thought Tsunade in anger at that, and at the fact that she couldn't do what she was thinking of until the toads came to her. But why hadn't Jiraiya used it?

'He did say something about Naruto not being a toad summoner anymore,' thought Tsunade. 'But how could he have broken the contract?'

Tsunade threw the bottle of sake down on the ground, smashing it into pieces. All this thinking was getting on her nerves. Better if she just waited on the damn toads to give her some answers.

* * *

><p>"So this is him…."<p>

Obito merely nodded his head at that, not commenting.

Currently in Kiri, we find Mito, Kushina, Fuka, Obito, Mei, and Yagura in one of the private hospital rooms. And on an operating table, the dead body of Tobi laid.

Mei looked at the dead Uchiha with an emotionless look on her face. So, this was the person that had caused Kiri to become hell on earth….

Yagura merely glanced at Mei in silence, knowing what the young woman would be feeling at the moment. As he turned to look at the dead Uchiha, Yagura himself didn't feel anything, which surprised him greatly. He would have thought that he would have at least feel some form of anger. He had to wonder why he didn't…

'He looks just like Obito,' thought Mito with narrowed eyes. 'But how could that be? And what happened to his body….?' she thought while noticing that the right portion of Tobi's body was…odd. Mito honestly didn't know how to describe it. But the fact was that no one had told her about this particular fact. Mito then silently nudge Kushina for an explanation.

Noticing the look on Mito's face, Kushina shook her head, as if to say 'Later.'

Mito sighed but nodded. There was a time for everything.

"Tch, asshole…" muttered Mei, but since no one was talking at the moment within the closed room, everyone heard her. Not that anyone present cared about the dead Uchiha in any case.

Obito chuckled, something which surprised Mei greatly. She would think that Obito would be defending the dead Uchiha. Weren't the two family or something? "I agree with you completely," stated Obito.

Mei merely nodded, not bothering to ask why. "So," she began, turning her attention back on the corpse, "is there any chance that Kiri can keep the body?"

"For?" asked Obito with a raised eyebrow.

'That's a good sign,' thought Mei, thinking of the fact that Obito had not outright said 'no.' "Do you really have to ask?" said Mei. "This guy here caused the greatest misfortune that has ever befallen this village. What do you think that we're going to do with it," finished Mei, some sarcasm present on her voice.

'If only you knew the rest,' thought Obito, momentarily glancing at his 'other self.' Obito pretty much knew everything that Tobi had done after Madara had died and he had left the underground base. But he wasn't going to tell Mei anything though. Just like he wasn't going to tell Mito anything either, or Mikoto for that fact.

_"That's the fun in deception, Obito,"_ Madara had told him once_. "You know all the cards, but no one else does. You get to see how everyone else reacts to the secrets around them, and yet, you know them all which makes it that much more amusing to watch. It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?"_

'And extremely annoying,' thought Obito while glancing at Mito. The redhead had been on his case this whole time ever since she had found out that Madara had told him everything. It seemed that she was extremely annoyed and bitter that Madara had left her on the dark on some things. And because he pretty much knew, well, everything, she was trying to crack him open and get him to spill the beans. But that was not going to happen anytime soon, or never really.

"I see," said Obito while faking a thinking pose. The truth of the matter was that he didn't care one single thing about what happened to Tobi anymore. Finally, he answered, "Yeah, you can have it." 'Mikoto already took the most important thing after all,' thought Obito, referring to Tobi's sharingan eyes.

Mei nodded. "I appreciate this," said Mei.

Obito shrugged. "I can think of many ways that you can properly 'thank' me for being so generous," said Obito, hinting as to what he really meant by wiggling his eyebrows.

Mito scowled at that, while both Kushina and Fuka merely looked amused.

Yagura raised an eyebrow while glancing at Mei.

Mei's eyebrows twitched momentarily at Obito's statement.

Mito stepped up, having had enough of all the games that were taking place. "We have other matters to attend to," she stated while holding up a small container that contained a weird looking liquid. "May I use your researching facilities? I have to know what this thing is."

Mei nodded, having forgotten about Obito's earlier statement for the moment. "Certainly."

"We'll go have a look around the village then," said Kushina as she and Fuka began to walk out of the room and out into the village.

"Do you mind if I tag along?" asked Yagura to Mito who simply nodded.

"I'll be going then," said Obito with a wave as he disappeared in his usual teleportation jutsu seeing that Mei was not going to take him up on his offer.

When both Mito and Yagura had left as well, Mei focused back on the corpse lying in front of her. 'Now, what to do with you?' mused the young Mizukage. The dead bastard was at her mercy now. Oh yeah, she was going to enjoy this.

* * *

><p>"I take it that it wasn't enjoyable?"<p>

Obito sighed while glancing at both black zetsu and white zetsu. He was currently overlooking Kiri from one of the village's protective walls, Zetsu having joined him.

"What makes you say that?" he asked with a bored tone.

**"This place has seen many misfortunes because of Tobi,"** answered black zetsu. **"He was the Sandaime Mizukage after Madara died, after all. And because of that, Uzu was also-"**

"I know," interrupted Obito, not wanting to be reminded of that particular incident. Not even Mikoto knew of everything that had happened in Uzu that night when the strike force had attacked the village of the Uzumakis. Hell, she didn't even know that Tobi had been the Sandaime Mizukage, or that Madara had been the original Sandaime until he had died, and that Tobi simply took his place afterwards. But Obito did. He had kept tabs to see what his other self was up to in those years after he had decided to leave. Tobi had been a very dangerous person after all.

Of course he hadn't thought that Tobi would go as far as he had. That had been a very huge mistake on Obito's part. Yes, Tobi had been dangerous, but Obito didn't know that Tobi had also been insane.

'I should have suspected that he was when he took Madara's previous plan to heart,' thought Obito with a shake of his head.

**"Are you going to tell anyone of them about that incident? Especially Naruto and the rest of those Uzumakis. Uzu was their homeland after all…."**

Obito shook his head as he turned away from Kiri. "No. If they want to know, they're going to have to find out about it themselves. It's the same reason that I kept things from Mikoto as well."

**"I thought that Madara told you to not tell her anything about Naruto because of what she would do if she did find out."**

Obito chuckled at that. That was true. If Mikoto found out just who exactly was interested in Naruto as well and what the young uzumaki was suppose to do and who he was, well she would basically not separate at all from the younger blond and would simply degrade down into a fangirl. Obito supposed that Kushina would be the same, although he suspected that the redhead had a much better idea than Mikoto did. There was also the fact that Mikoto had already been interested in Naruto because he was Kushina's son. That was why she had gone after him after Naruto had left the village in the first place after all.

"That's also part of it," admitted Obito and then glanced at white zetsu. "You're not to tell anyone of this, understood?"

White zetsu chuckled. "None of this makes any sense to me either way, so I can't very well tell anyone of any of this."

Obito nodded, satisfied. "Good."

Black zetsu glanced back at Kiri. **"Such an unlucky place…."**

Obito didn't respond to that. But as he began teleport himself away, one final thought ran through his mind. 'I do wonder what Tobi wanted to accomplish by starting the civil war here in Kiri, though. Or why he even took part in destroying Uzu…'

Just what had Tobi been after?

* * *

><p>Neji could only stare at Naruto in shock.<p>

"Seriously?" asked Anko while holding her gut and laughing.

Currently back in Konoha in the training ground of the old Team Seven, Naruto had immediately contacted both Neji and Anko to meet him as soon as possible. Once they had both arrived, Naruto had proceeded to tell them of how he was planning to deal with the now dubbed 'Hinata Situation.' Which then lead to this current situation.

"Are you out of your freaking mind!?" asked Neji with wide eyes. No, he pretty much screamed out the question.

Anko whistled at that. "Wow. A Hyuuga screaming and losing his cool. I don't think I've ever seen that before…."

Naruto sighed at Neji's freaked out look. "It's not as bad as it sounds," defended the blond.

Neji shook his head. "You're right," said Neji, "it's worse! You're planning on having Hinata, HINATA, kill the clan head of the Hyuuga clan! And, if you haven't forgotten, said clan head also happens to be her father!"

Kurama himself was whistling at the moment within Naruto's mind as well. **"I don't think I've ever seen a Hyuuga act like this before either. Heh, I guess you see something new everyday."**

Naruto simply chuckled at both Kurama and Neji. "You're right," agreed Naruto, making Neji stop his rant for the moment, "it does sound stupid if you put it that way. But you've also forgotten one important fact."

Neji raised an eyebrow. "And that is?" he asked.

"The girl's obsession over him," answered Anko from her spot on sitting on one of the tree trunks. She was also on the process of eating another plate of dango. Hey, it was basically the sadistic woman's life source.

Naruto nodded. "Exactly what Anko said. You should know by now that Hinata is in love with me, although I still don't completely understand what I did to get her to fall in love with me though," commented Naruto while scratching the back of his head.

Anko chuckled. "I think it's those whiskers of yours," said Anko with a wink.

**"Ha! I told you that the whiskers were a major turn on for women! You should thank me brat. What would you do without me…."**

Naruto merely rolled his eyes.

"I see you're point…." muttered Neji while going on to his own 'brooding' pose that slightly differed from the one that Sasuke had.

"Speaking of appearances," said Anko as she finished the last of her dango on her plate, a fact that saddened the woman greatly, "just what the hell happened to you?" asked Anko with a raised eyebrow. "Without the whiskers or your voice, I don't think that I could be able to recognize you."

"Yes, I would like to know that as well," said Neji, also taking notice of that fact.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't have time to explain things to you at the moment. The show is about to start," responded Naruto as he looked up at the sky which was already dark signifying nighttime which meant that Hinata would be beginning at any moment.

Anko pouted as she hopped off the tree trunk and proceeded to walk towards Naruto. Once she was in front of him, Anko threw her arms around the Kyuubi jinchuriki and pouting once more. "You know, we haven't spent anytime together," said Anko with a playful sad look on her face. "Rumor has it that you even had time to get acquainted with Fu."

"Oh?" said Naruto while glancing at Neji who shook his head as if to say 'Don't look at me. I didn't tell her shit!'

"And?" asked Naruto as he turned his attention back to Anko. "What do you want to do about it?"

Anko smirked. "What do you think that I want to do about it?" retorted Anko with a sultry voice.

Neji rolled his eyes at the sight before him. "For the love of kami, get a room you two! Or better yet, we still have to see if Hinata is going to kill her father or not!"

"Don't spoil the moment Hyuuga!" snapped back Anko with irritation. "I've been waiting all this time! I'm needy!"

Neji felt himself blush at that. "Like I said, get a fucking room!"

Naruto chuckled in amusement before shaking his head. "Sorry Anko, but Neji's right. Afterwards though…." Naruto left the rest of the sentence hanging as he gave Anko a look over. "Well, you know."

"Can't wait then!" proclaimed Anko as she gave the young Uzumaki a kiss on the cheek before stepping back. "So, where is all of this going to take place?" she asked.

Naruto chuckled before placing his right arm around Anko's waist before she got away too far. "At the Hyuuga mansion," he answered.

Neji once again shook his head. "That just makes it even more idiotic…"

Naruto shrugged as Anko leaned in to snuggle closer to him. "Maybe, but like I said, I don't care if she succeeds or not. Now c'mon, let's see how this turns out."

Neji sighed as he placed his right hand on Naruto's left shoulder, and the three disappeared in a dark flash.

* * *

><p>After having have had her encounter with Naruto and having returned to the Hyuuga mansion, Hinata walked down a hallway that led to her father's work study, where he would undoubtedly be working at just like he always did these days ever since her mother had died.<p>

The only other times when he would not in his work study with his head stuck in paperwork, her father would either be at a council meeting or at some sort of other meeting that had to do with just clan matters.

And there was one particular matter that Hinata did not like at all. One day she had overheard her father speaking with some of the council members of just the Hyuuga clan that he was perhaps planning on having her marry some heir of a big corporation that did business with Konoha.

Now that made Hinata shiver in disgust every time that she thought of it. For her to have to marry some random person that she didn't even know as well as having said random person touch her body, well it just made Hinata feel very disgusted. How could her father even think of doing something like that? But that was a silly question, and Hinata knew that. It was all just to simply increase the political power of the clan. And her father would do it, no matter what. Even if he had to sacrifice his own daughter to do it. But if he did that to her, could he also do it to her younger sister, Hanabi?

Now that thought made the young female Hyuuga frown. Truth of the matter was that she didn't hate her sister. In fact, she loved Hanabi, although Hinata couldn't say that the feeling was mutual, but still. And to have Hanabi suffer the same way that she would? It was unthinkable.

No, all of these thoughts just made Hinata's resolve that much stronger to go through with what she was going to do. And it would be relatively easy as well. Her father was a high jonin level shinobi, that much was true, but around her, his defenses were always down. It's not like he would ever suspect that his weak daughter would ever attack him, right? Add to the fact that Hinata herself had on occasions visited her father in the past to try and to rebuild their relationship. It hadn't worked, obviously, but her father would not be suspicious at all when she would arrive.

Hinata came out of her thoughts as she stopped in front of a door and knocked. "Father, it's me," said Hinata softly.

"Enter," came the rough reply a few seconds later.

Hinata simply opened the door and walked through the doorway, silently closing the door.

"What do you want?" asked Hiashi as he continued to read a certain document. "I'm quite busy at the moment."

Now that was true. There were still many things that needed to be rebuilt for the Hyuuga compound. All that had been built in the past few days had been the main mansion, and even then there were some parts that still remained unfinished, and then some of the outer housing for the Branch members were finished as well. But considering in the short amount of time that this had been completed in, Hiashi was quite content at the moment. Well, at least his own mansion was almost complete, and he could use it as well. The first night after Naruto's attack had been hell. But thankfully that was over.

"I just came to see if you needed anything," responded Hinata quietly with her head down.

Hiashi gave his daughter a quick glance before going back to reading the document that was presently being held in his right hand. "I'm fine," said Hiashi simply, not bothering to show any gratitude for his daughter worrying about him.

Hinata could only frown, something which Hiashi missed as he was to engrossed with his paperwork and the fact that Hinata currently had her head bowed.

Hinata silently began to walk around the desk and stopped behind Hiashi causing said man to raise an eyebrow as his daughter.

"What are you doing?" asked Hiashi.

"I'm just giving you a message father," answered Hinata she indeed began to do just that. "You must be quite stressed."

Hiashi simply allowed for his daughter to do as she pleased before a thought crossed his mind. His daughter hadn't stuttered once since she had come in. And since he hadn't really paid much attention to his daughter in the past few days, hell years, that came as an odd thing. Now with Hiashi being the veteran shinobi that he was, that particular observation made warning bells go off in his head. But it was too late. Hiashi felt his chakra leave him as well as the feeling of both of his arms.

Hinata smirked to herself, something that she herself didn't even know that she was doing. With the access of giving her father a 'massage' on his shoulders, Hinata had proceeded to shut down the pressure points to shut down Hiashi's access to his chakra. It wouldn't last though. Her father was a Hyuuga as well, so he would find a way to reactivate his chakra.

But Hinata wouldn't give him that time.

'Now,' thought Hinata as she activated her byakugan and walked around the chair that Hiashi was currently sitting on until she was in front of him, 'for the final blow.'

"Hinata," said Hiashi with shock all over his face, "why are you doing this?"

"Is it really that hard to guess?" replied Hinata.

Before Hiashi could respond, Hinata delivered a palm strike straight at Hiashi's heart, killing the man instantly.

* * *

><p>"Holy shit!" screamed Anko with surprise from a nearby tree, both Naruto and Neji beside her. "The princess actually did it!"<p>

"Would you keep it down," said Neji, byakugan activated to see if anyone was nearby, although he too was very much surprised at the moment as well. Not that he very much cared about Hiashi, but still, the fact that Hinata actually succeeded in killing him, well….enough said.

Naruto merely smirked. 'Well, I wasn't expecting her to succeed….'

**"And? What now? Are you going to kill her?"**

Naruto mentally shook his head. 'Now that would be a waste. Having someone like her that would do anything that I say….let's just say that I think that that could become useful in the future.'

Kurama chuckled. **"I see…"**

"This is still going to make an investigation happen," stated Neji while glancing at Naruto. "Do you have a plan on how to stop that from occurring?"

Naruto chuckled. "Why, yes I do actually…."

* * *

><p>For a moment, Hinata could only stare in shock at Hiashi's unmoving body. But that moment passed quickly as excitement grew within her. She did it! She actually succeeded in killing her father! Now Naruto would definitely allow for her to join him, and then…..cue blush.<p>

Soft clapping made Hinata come out of her perverted thoughts as she looked over by the door to see Naruto standing there, who was also the source of the clapping.

"Well done, Hinata," said Naruto.

Hinata merely blushed at the praise.

"Now," began Naruto while opening the door, "it would be best if you went back to your room as if nothing happened. Don't worry, I'll take it from here."

Hinata could only nod and began to do just that. She stopped at the doorway, however, and turned towards Naruto to ask, "A-am I in n-now?"

Naruto merely took hold of one of her hands and kissed it, making the blush on the girl intensify. "Of course," answered Naruto with a grin.

Hinata nodded in relief and left, silently closing the door once more.

"You know I'm kind of jealous," said Anko with a pout as she appeared from one of the walls.

Naruto rolled his eyes at her. "Don't be."

Neji could only shake his head as he also appeared from one of the walls. "You sure are good, Naruto."

"Why, thank you Neji," said Naruto with a smirk. "But unfortunately, I don't swing that way."

Anko bursted out laughing at that, while Neji had an irritated look on his face. "I didn't mean it like that, you idiot!"

Naruto waved his hands in dismissal. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say…."

Neji merely scoffed and crossed his arms, annoyed.

Anko wiped imaginary tears from her eyes. "Oh yeah, this has been a good night all right."

"I'm so glad that I could be of amusement to you," muttered Neji.

Naruto walked up to Hiashi's body and began to poke it.

"What are you doing?" asked Anko.

Naruto shrugged as he stopped his poking. "Nothing. I've just always wanted to do that to that stuck up bastard. It's not as fun as I thought it would be, though…."

"That's because he's dead," stated Anko with a look of amusement on her face.

Naruto nodded. "That's probably why…."

"We need to hurry," cut in Neji. "We don't know if any of the Hyuuga members will come to see Hiashi for any clan matters."

Anko nodded. "I agree."

Naruto merely picked up Hiashi's dead body and threw it over his shoulder.

"What are you going to do?" asked Neji with curiosity. Anko leaned in to hear Naruto's answer, also curious.

Naruto turned his head back to glance at both Neji and Anko before smirking. "Remember that I told you that I had a plan to make sure that no one would suspect that Hinata was responsible or for an investigation to take place?"

Both Neji and Anko simply nodded.

Naruto's smirk was still present as he turned to look out the window. "Well, now you'll get to see it…."

* * *

><p>Obito could only simply look around the deserted land as he simply walked randomly down a destroyed street in the island of Uzu.<p>

"Oi, oi, it's getting pretty late," commented white zetsu as he and his counterpart walked alongside Obito. "It's also getting chilly. You might catch a cold."

But Obito just simply continued to walk as if he hadn't heard what white zetsu had said or just simply chose to ignore it.

**"Shut up,"** said black zetsu to white zetsu. **"There's a reason why he's here, and you butting in is not helping."**

"Eh?" said white zetsu. "But I don't even know what happened here exactly since you two won't tell me anything."

As the two halves began to argue, Obito merely kept looking around the area. It was a horrible sight alright. And to think that this was caused all because of one man.

_"Why? Why did you tell us about what you had been planning to do? Because of that, he's now trying to do just that!"_

_"Hmm….you ask me why and make it sound like it's a big mystery, when the answer is pretty much obvious."_

_"The what is it!?"_

_"Heh….it's because I'm bored."_

_A pause. "What?"_

_"You heard me. Why did I tell you two about what my plans were before? Because I'm bored. With this, it will make the game more interesting. It's the same reason why I gave that Nagato boy my rinnegan. It's all just to make the game more interesting."_

_"You do realize that the world could end, don't you?"_

_"You do realize everything that I have told you, don't you? That clone of yourself, that mere shadow, is nothing but a small player in the grand scheme of things."_

_"That may be, but that still doesn't make him any less dangerous!"_

_"You're right, but like I said, I'm bored. This is all just to make things more exciting. One day, you'll understand, Obito. I'm sure of it."_

Obito stopped on his tracks, causing both halves to stop arguing for the moment and to look at Obito's back in curiosity.

Obito looked up at the star-filled sky to gaze at the moon as a soft breeze blew. Obito merely smiled.

'Yeah, it was just because you were bored….Madara.'

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Well welcome once again to another chapter! I probably shouldn't be writting this right now as I have exams again, and I have to wake up early tomorrow, but I couldn't help myself. Besides, it's only Geometry tomorrow. How hard can it be?**

**On a different note, this ends another day. Things will now proceed to the last day before the shit really hits the fan. And I'm just leaving this warning, next chapter is probably going to be boring as it just mainly deals with how the different characters and factions prepare themselves for what's to come next.**

**So yeah. Hope you liked how things ended with Hinata. I'm sure some of you won't probably like it, but like Naruto said, it would be a waste to kill Hinata seeing as she is now Naruto's lapdog, really.**

**I suppose that does it for me. Tell me what you thought. So…review.**

**Till next time.**


	38. Day 3: The Calm before The Storm

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<br>**_"Hmm…"_****- Flashback/Memory****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 37:<br>Day Three: The Calm before the Storm**

Naruto could only smirk to himself as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, the corpse of the recently murdered Hyuuga Hiashi over his shoulder.

'Man,' thought Naruto to himself, 'you would think that someone would have noticed me by now.'

**"Hmm…what's this? Do you mean to tell me that you actually want to get caught?"**

'Of course,' answered Naruto without hesitation. 'Weren't you listening to what I had said earlier?'

**"….Maybe."**

Naruto could only roll his eyes at Kurama's answer. 'Well if you're that curious, then just wait to see what's going to happen. It's more fun that way, don't you think?'

Kurama chuckled. **"Indeed. Alright then. But you better hurry before I lose interest."**

Naruto didn't respond to that, not that Kurama cared in any event. The tail beast just wanted to know what his container was planning to do to take any suspicion that could arise against Hinata disappear. Thinking of the Hyuuga girl made Kurama chuckled. She had guts, Kurama would give her that. Or maybe it was mental problems….?

In any case, for her to have killed her own father….and simply for Naruto as well! Well, Kurama had to give the girl some props. Not that it would matter in the end. The girl was simply a pawn for his container. A pawn that said blond didn't care about at all, except for the help that she would bring once the blond started to commence everything. And it wouldn't be for long either.

Kurama honestly couldn't wait any longer for the real fun to begin. Where everything would end once and for all. A sad thought in a way. But then the tailed beast could finally relax in peace along with the rest of his brothers. Well Kurama still had his doubts about Matatabi….either the cat was bipolar or….

Kurama honestly didn't know.

'Alright, this is just ridiculous!' mentally screamed Naruto with an annoyed look on his face as he stopped on top of a random rooftop.

'And Neji said that patrols were everywhere….'

**"Not inside though. Either they're confident enough that no one could ever infiltrate as deep as you're in, or they're just plain stupid. I would go with the latter though….'**

'Of course you would,' thought Naruto with another roll of his eyes as he walked towards the edge of the rooftop to gaze at the village that was currently under construction, Hiashi's body still on his shoulder. 'I must say though, they have rebuilt the village a lot faster than I thought.'

**"Heh….that will just make it more fun to destroy it again…."**

Naruto smirked slightly at that before turning serious. 'All in good time. But for right now,' thought Naruto as he glanced at the corpse that he was carrying at the moment, 'I have to get rid of this guy. And since apparently no one can notice me, then I'll just make it extremely obvious.'

Kurama raised an eyebrow, not that Naruto could see it. **"Oh? And how do you plan on doing that?"**

Naruto simply dropped Hiashi's body on the ground. 'You'll see…' responded Naruto as he activated his rinnegan.

* * *

><p>"Tsunade-sama, you should get some rest. Don't forget that the summit is the day after tomorrow."<p>

Tsunade scowled as she looked at her assistance, Shizune. First, she had wanted for Tsunade to do all of her work which she did. Well, not _all_ of it, but still she did finish a lot of it. But now she wanted for her to stop? That made no sense.

"It's almost midnight already," continued Shizune with a worried look on her face. "It's not healthy to stay up this long like you are."

Ah, that explained it. Tsunade looked out the window that was behind her, just like her previous office had as well. And indeed, it was pure dark outside.

'Where did the time go?' thought Tsunade incredulously. To her, the day had only felt like a few hours. Maybe because she was too engrossed on her paperwork to actually notice the time moving.

"Alright," said Tsunade with a sigh as she stood up, making Shizune sigh herself but in relief. Good thing that her master had listened to her as quick as she had. Normally she would have gone on a racket. But it seemed that she was too tire for that.

'Tsunade-sama….' thought Shizune as she looked at her master worriedly. Shizune could understand why her master was tired. Tired of all these surprises that kept appearing out of nowhere. And they all started when Naruto had left Jiraiya. Truly marvelous how one event can change everything, reflected Shizune.

'It looks like the toads aren't coming today,' thought Tsunade as she organized the last of the papers on her desk before she left. And that was something that Tsunade did not like. At this point, any information on Naruto could be very helpful, why with all the mysteries that the blond was apparently surrounded with. Three years ago he was like an open book.

Well almost. Once she had gotten to know Naruto better, Tsunade knew that the blond had always been hiding behind that smile of his. Why? If Tsunade had to guess, it would be to hide all the real emotions that he had felt. Mainly all the hatred that he must have felt against the villagers. How much? Tsunade really didn't know. It had only been the people around him that had kept him from becoming someone dark. Mainly Iruka.

But that was in the past. Now….

Before Tsunade could continue her train of thought, she sensed an extremely familiar wave of chakra coming from somewhere nearby the Hyuuga compound.

'This chakra,' thought Tsunade as she walked up to one of the windows, her papers on the desk forgotten. 'It couldn't be…?'

"Tsunade-sama," said Shizune as she walk up to stand beside her, also having sensed the chakra. And how couldn't she? With the massive levels that were currently being released, anyone could sense it. But what was happening?

"Shizune," said Tsunade quietly, making said woman look at her, "get me a team of anbu as soon as possible. We need to get there….NOW!"

Shizune ran out of the office.

'Naruto….' thought Tsunade as she stared at the location from where the chakra waves were coming from.

* * *

><p><strong>"Oi, you're just wasting your chakra here."<strong>

'I know, but I have more than enough. Seems that my chakra levels have risen a lot from when the Rikudo Sennin shared his power with me.'

Kurama actually rose an eyebrow in surprise at that. **"Seriously? How bigger can they get?"** Now that was actually something that Kurama did not expect, not that anyone could blame him. Naruto's chakra levels had already been off the charts, and now apparently they had risen?

**'The brat must have reserves close to that of a bijuu,'** thought Kurama, although he found that thought to be exaggerating things. But even so, the brat was releasing chakra that would leave any shinobi on his knees by now, and he said that he still had 'more than enough.' Maybe he wasn't too far off….

Naruto stopped the release of his chakra as he looked at the ground to see Hiashi's dead body still laying there.

'Won't be long now,' thought Naruto as he walked up towards the corpse. With the amount of chakra that he had just released, anyone could tell where he was. And he was betting on that.

'Now to make it believable,' thought Naruto as he picked up the corpse.

* * *

><p>"Tsunade-sama."<p>

Tsunade glanced behind her to see a female purple haired anbu running behind her who was being followed by another four anbu members. "Cat," stated Tsunade before turning her head to look forward.

"What is this about, Tsunade-sama?" asked 'Cat.' She of course had felt the enormous chakra levels, but didn't know what to make of it. But the worse part of this was if perhaps someone hostile had actually gotten past through all of the patrols that were currently deployed. She of course had advised her Hokage to also place shinobi to patrol inside the village. But of course who had disagreed? The advisors and the civilian council. They had something about making the civilians uncomfortable.

Thinking about them made Cat shake her head. They were pretty much useless entities in government. Normally Tsunade would have just told them to go to hell, but it seemed that she didn't care anymore. And that was something that worried Cat greatly. If their own leader didn't care about the village, what would happen? Besides threats from outside the village, morons like the civilian council would destroy the village.

"We're almost there," stated Tsunade as she took to the rooftops as this area actually had finished buildings. Cat and the rest of the anbu followed behind her.

* * *

><p>'Well, it seems that I have attracted quite the crowd,' thought Naruto as he felt the chakra from shinobi coming from all the directions.<p>

'Well, to sell this,' thought Naruto as he threw Hiashi's body into a nearby building with great force. Said corpse smashed straight through the building.

That was the sight that Tsunade saw as she stood on a rooftop beside the one where Naruto stood, the anbu behind her.

And she wasn't the only one.

All active shinobi appeared all around the area wondering what was happening. And the sight before them was not the one that they had been expecting.

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he looked around. 'Ok,' he thought with a slight sweatdrop, 'maybe I went a little overboard….'

**"You think?"**

'Thanks for your support,' said Naruto sarcastically.

Kurama chuckled. **"Don't mention it. That's why I'm here after all."**

'Right…'

"Naruto!" said Tsunade as she stepped forward, a look of rage on her face having recognized Hiashi's unmoving body within the other building that Naruto threw. She had already assumed as to what had happened here. And that was that Naruto had attacked Hiashi who fought back which then resulted in all of the chakra being released earlier. Hiashi obviously closed one of Naruto's chakra points which then resulted in Naruto forcefully open it. And then Naruto preceded to kill Hiashi in which he succeeded. The only question was as to why Naruto had even attacked Hiashi in the first place. And that was what she was going to find out even if she had to beat the brat into a bloody mess. Well, she was going to do that anyways.

That and his appearance as well. What the hell had happened to him? She could tell that it was him because of the whiskers, but other than that, he looked like a completely different person.

Naruto raised another eyebrow. "Yes?" he said as if nothing wrong was happening.

Tsunade scowled when she took notice of his carefree attitude. "You will not get away!"

Naruto could only sigh. "Haven't you learn yet that you can't stop me? Our last encounter should have shown you that."

"That was only because you had backup!" retorted Tsunade. She was going to get all the answers she wanted dammit! "But now you're alone!"

Naruto chuckled at that. "You honestly believe that I'm alone? Have you forgotten what this village turned me into?" he said while pointing at his stomach.

Tsunade's eyes widened at that, as well as many other shinobi.

Naruto chuckled again. "I see you understand. Well I don't really consider this a curse really. In your idiocity, you have actually given me my greatest partner!"

'So he and Kyuubi are actually on good terms,' thought Tsunade worriedly. 'This confirms it….'

"Naruto!"

Naruto once again raised another eyebrow as Iruka stepped forward from one of the crowds of the gathered shinobi.

"Please! You need to stop this!" pleaded Iruka, also having recognized Naruto. But he would worry about his appearance later.

Naruto merely stared at the academy teacher for a few seconds, before he smirked. "Sorry. But it's too late for that. Words can't stop me. If you really want to put an end to all of this then," Naruto spread his arms outward, "then you'll have to kill me. That's the only way."

Iruka could stare at the person that he considered as his little brother in shock. "I-I…"

"DIE!"

Naruto merely stood there as one brave (or stupid) shinobi appeared before him with a kunai in his hand. "THIS IS FOR MY BROTHER THAT YOU KILLED!"

Before he could do anything else, he was pulled forward by an unknown force. Well to him it was unknown at least. Naruto held him by his throat as he looked at Iruka.

"You don't believe me, do you? Well let me show you," stated Naruto with his rinnegan activated. The shinobi being held screamed as Naruto pulled out his soul with a bored look on his face.

"That's it!" screamed Tsunade. "Everyone, capture him! NOW!"

Naruto let go of the shinobi's body as he looked at the incoming shinobi. Let's just say, there was a lot of them.

"Sorry," said Naruto, "but I don't have time to play with you." With that, he disappeared in a dark flash, leaving all of the Konoha shinobi to look around, confused.

Tsunade shook her fists. 'Naruto….'

* * *

><p>Anko whistled from on top of a tree, having seen everything that had occurred. "Impressive," she stated.<p>

Neji nodded his head from his spot beside her. "Yes. Although I don't think that it might be wise for us to just be out here in the open without trying to help."

Anko waved her hands. "Don't worry. Do you think that Tsunade will notice us with all of this going on? Not to mention the fact that with Naruto's chakra still in the air, she can't detect us."

"Right," responded Neji.

"I just hope that he didn't leave," continued Anko, talking about Naruto. "Watching all of that really turned me on."

Neji looked at Anko with a twitching eyebrow. "I really did not need to know that…."

Anko looked at him with a smirk. "What? You don't find me sexy?"

Neji turned away with a blush. "I'm not going to answer that."

Anko chuckled. 'It's so fun messing with him,' she thought.

"Having fun are we?"

Both Neji and Anko looked down to see Naruto leaning against the tree trunk, looking at them with an amused look of his face.

Before Neji could see how, Anko was right next to Naruto's side the next second, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm flattered that you didn't forget about me," said Anko with a smile.

"Never," responded Naruto and then looked up towards Neji. "Get down here, will you?"

The next moment Neji was on the ground in front of them as well. "What is it?" he asked.

"I want you to tell Hinata what she will need to do," responded Naruto.

**"Oi, it's not wise to stay in the open like this. No doubt that Tsunade will send search teams to look for you."**

'I know,' replied Naruto.

"The Hyuuga no longer has a clan head," said Neji. "What do you-"

"I'm sure that you'll figure something out," interrupted Naruto with a slight smirk.

"Right," said Neji with a shake of his head.

"C'mon," whined Anko. "We have things to do."

Neji scowled as he turned to walk away. No way in hell that he was staying to watch any of this.

"I'll tell Anko what you two will need to do as well since you're not going to stay apparently," stated Naruto at Neji's retreating back.

Neji merely kept walking causing Naruto to chuckle.

"Let's do this," said Anko as both she and Naruto disappeared in a dark flash.

* * *

><p>Mito sighed contently as she stood on the balcony of her temporary room in Kiri. It was a beautiful night alright. How she hoped for a time when she could just finally not worry about anything.<p>

Having grown up during the era where war was a common occurrence, she understood the harsh reality of things. That sometimes people died for the stupidest of things. And all to just serve someone who didn't care about them at all.

'The idiocity of humans,' thought Mito as she looked up at the full moon. She was currently wearing a very loose scarlet nightgown.

An issue that was bothering her was that the poison that she had studied a few hours earlier. According to Yagura, the poison had been something that he had apparently used during the civil war in Kiri to kill people that had bloodlines. Well, Yagura didn't know how he had come up with it, just that he did. Meaning that Tobi was behind it which troubled her greatly.

A poison that can even affect an Uzumaki was a dangerous one.

'Just what was he planning?' thought Mito. Of course it could all just be a coincidence, but Mito didn't believe in coincidence. Another issue was as to how that bartender had even gotten hold of the poison in the first place.

'If only I could have asked him,' thought Mito with a sigh. Something told her that Obito knew. The only problem was that the bastard wouldn't tell her anything.

'Madara….just what is your true motive in all of this?' wondered Mito. 'Is this all just to take your revenge on Konoha?' That seemed sort of unlikely. This was all just too complex just for something as that.

A knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts. Already knowing who it was, she said, "Come in."

Kushina, having her night wear concealed by a maroon robe, entered the room and gently closed the door behind her. "I take it that you want your answers now," said Kushina as she walked up towards Mito in the balcony and stopped to stand beside her.

"I really doubt that you have all the answers that I want," replied Mito.

Kushina sighed. "Yes, you're right. I don't even know everything about Tobi's appearance either."

It was Mito's turn to sigh. "I figured as much."

"All I know is that he was a part of Obito," began Kushina. "He was Obito's 'darkness' in a sense and that after Madara brought Obito back to life, he gained life."

"Obito died?" asked Mito with a curious look.

Kushina nodded. "Yes he did. He was crushed by a boulder trying to save an old teammate of his during the Third Shinobi War. Madara brought him back to life using the summoning jutsu to summon the Shinigami."

"But how can something like that happen?" questioned Mito. "No matter how strong a dark emotion is, it can't gain life."

'I don't know about that,' thought Kushina thinking about Naruto and Dark Naruto, although she could see that Mito did have a point. Even Dark Naruto couldn't gain a body of his own. If he wanted to be free, he would have to take over Naruto. So for Tobi to have had-

"And why didn't Madara just kill Tobi?" asked Mito, bringing Kushina out of her thoughts.

"Obito said something about him being curious about what had happened," responded Kushina.

'Madara….you…' thought Mito incredulously.

"Weird isn't it?" asked Kushina.

"It sure is," responded Mito. "But considering everything else going on, I shouldn't be too surprised."

Kushina didn't respond to that. "It's almost over isn't it?" she asked.

"I don't know," answered Mito. "But things will get hectic soon. That is certain."

Kushina merely closed her eyes.

* * *

><p>"Where the hell have you been?"<p>

"I was out getting some fresh air. I didn't know that I would be needed since Konoha is under construction. How was I to know that Naruto would attack?"

Tsunade sighed as she looked at Kabuto. To think that circumstances would actually make her team up with him of all people. Karma was a bitch.

It had been a few hours since Naruto's surprise appearance and killing of Hiashi. It was about four a.m. in the morning and Tsunade had not slept at all and she doubted that she would sleep tonight as well. And that was bad. The kage meeting was tomorrow after all.

"I'm surprise though," said Kabuto as he readjusted his glasses, "why would Naruto kill Hyuuga Hiashi of all people?"

"For the hell of it," answered Tsunade with a scowl. This was the last time that she let the advisors and the civilian council decide anything. She had just been to tired to try to argue with them, and she still was. But seeing what had happened because of it, she needed to step up.

"I have things to do," stated Kabuto as he made his way towards the door. "I'm sure that you'll want me to accompany you tomorrow, correct?"

"Yes," said Tsunade reluctantly. "Both you and Kakashi will be my 'bodyguards.' We will leave in a few hours though. So do whatever you need to get done as soon as possible."

'Not much time,' thought Kabuto as he walked out of the office. 'But it will do.'

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the now closed door. She had been careless, not noticing Kabuto's disappearance. But she would be more careful now. And this just gave her another headache. In what position was she in where she couldn't even trust her supposed 'ally?'

Not in a very good one, that was for sure.

* * *

><p>"So you're finally here."<p>

"Hm."

Twitch.

"Now now Sasu-chan, don't use that kind of attitude on your mother. I have taught you better than that haven't I? Cause if I haven't, then I guess I'll just have to start now."

"….No Kaa-san."

A nod. "Good. Now come and give your sweet and caring mother a big hug!"

Sasuke's eyebrows twitched as Mikoto approached him with her arms stretched outwards, ready to give him a big hug.

Suigetsu was laughing in the background with Karin trying her best to hold hers in. But when Mikoto did hug Sasuke, she lost the battle.

'I'm not eight anymore!' thought Sasuke miserably but decided not to voice it. His mother was scary. That was something that he never forgot and probably never will.

The two Uchihas with both Karin and Suigetsu were currently inside the Raikage's office with said shinobi being in the village to overseeing his now prepared army and readying himself to head towards the Land of Iron.

Mikoto released her son from her hug, a smile on her face. "So…how are you doing Sasu-chan?"

'Could do without your hugs and nicknames,' thought Sasuke. "Are we ready yet to move on?" he asked instead. "I'm quite tired of just simply traveling from village to village."

Before Mikoto could respond, someone beat her to it.

"Now now Teme, everything in good time."

Sasuke scowled as both Obito and Naruto appeared inside the office thanks to Obito's teleportation jutsu.

"Oh?" said Mikoto in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Just to make sure that everything was finished," responded Naruto. Thankfully Obito had left one of white zetsu's clones in the village. After having getting 'acquainted' with Anko, he had contacted Obito through white zetsu and now they were here.

"Everything has been taken care of," replied Mikoto. "But where is Kushina?"

"In Kiri," answered Naruto. "They had things to do there." He then turned to look at Sasuke. "And don't worry. Things will get exciting now. No more traveling."

Sasuke smirked at that. "It's about time," said Sasuke.

Naruto smirked as well, but didn't say anything.

Mikoto crossed her arms. "And? A whole day is still left. What are we suppose to do?"

Naruto shrugged. "Relax? Use this time to get rested. It probably won't be happening again for awhile where you'll get to be so secure."

Obito sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, if you don't need me anymore, then I guess I'll go sightseeing."

The way that he said sightseeing made Mikoto's eyes twitch. With that, Obito walked out, Suigetsu following although said swordsman didn't say anything, not that anyone present cared.

"We need to talk," said Naruto to Mikoto, making said female Uchiha raise an eyebrow.

Seeing where this was going, Sasuke began to walk out as well. "Let's go," he simply said to Karin. The female redhead merely followed behind the Uchiha, not saying anything.

'I'll ask her about it later,' thought Sasuke glancing at his mother momentarily before walking out, Karin right behind him.

When the door closed, Mikoto asked, "What is it?"

Naruto activated his regular sharingan with the three tomoes. "These eyes….who did they belong to?"

Mikoto sighed at that. "Do you really want to know?" she asked back.

Naruto nodded. "Yes. Because," he closed his eyes and when they opened, his mangekyo was activated, "I don't want to go blind because of this."

"The Eternal," muttered Mikoto, understanding where the blond was going with this.

Naruto nodded again. "Exactly. So….whose were they?"

Mikoto sighed again before answering. "Well if you want to know, I have to explain something to you. I have a whole collection of sharingan eyes."

Now that made Naruto paid even more attention. That was something that he was also interested in.

"With the help of white zetsu, I managed to secure a lot of them after the Uchiha Massacre," she began to explain. "Of course there was also Tobi who collected some for his own use as well. But unlike him, the reason I collected them was because they are property of the Uchiha Clan, not Konoha. But there was one important eye that both Tobi and I could not get in time." Mikoto paused here before continuing.

"And that was Uchiha Shisui's eye."

"Uchiha Shisui?" repeated Naruto.

Mikoto nodded. "Yes. He possessed the mangekyo and in turn one of the strongest genjutsus in existence, if not the strongest. And the one that has it is Danzo."

Naruto scowled at that. "Why am I not surprised."

"I don't know what happened to the other eye though," said Mikoto with a thoughtful look on her face before shaking her head. "But the point is though that Danzo has a strong sharingan eye in his possession. That was what I was after before I heard that you had left Jiraiya on your training trip."

"I see…" muttered Naruto.

Mikoto then shrugged. "It doesn't matter now though. I'm sure that that bastard is going to show himself at the Kage Meeting and that's where I'll finally take that eye back."

"I understand so far," stated Naruto. "But you still haven't told me as to whom this eye belonged to."

This time Mikoto chuckled. "You'll probably not going to believe this, but those eyes belong to none other than Madara's father."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "Seriously?" he asked.

Mikoto nodded. "Yes." 'To make him gain the eternal I'm going to need to give him Madara's brother's eyes just like Madara said I should,' thought Mikoto although she didn't quite understand as to why Madara had wanted that, just that black zetsu said that that were his orders. But still….why?

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought. 'Something tells me that Madara had something to do with that.'

**"You think?"**

Naruto ignored the bijuu. "I see….then how am I suppose to acquire the eternal then? I don't suppose that he had a relative that I could transplant with."

Mikoto was quiet, but her mind was thinking.

_**"Do you understand? Only when he asks for it, and only then, are you to give him Madara's other brother's eyes so that he may be able to attain the eternal."**_

_"I don't get it. Why are you telling me this now? Why did Madara want any of this?"_

_**"It's…important."**_

_"You're not going to tell me, are you?"_

_**"Hehehehe…you know me too well."**_

_"Tch…can you at least tell me just why are you telling me this now?"_

_**"He's with you now, isn't he? What good would this information be when he wasn't? Just do as Madara wanted and you'll be really glad of the things that will happen afterwards. I guarantee it."**_

'He better be right,' thought Mikoto.

"I have something that will get around that," stated Mikoto with a smirk.

"And that is?" asked Naruto.

Mikoto merely continued to smirk.

* * *

><p>"So Tsunade-sama will be leaving soon."<p>

"We need to figure out what to do too. It's obvious that Naruto is no longer the person that we thought that he was."

Neji merely stared at the discussion in front of him with an impassive look on his face. Currently the remainder of the rookies were discussing what they were going to about Naruto now that it was clearly obvious that he was not going to change. Something that made a certain pink haired kunoichi very sad.

Sakura had her head lowered, staring at the ground.

Neji honestly found that very amusing. Three years ago the pink haired girl wouldn't have given a single thought to Naruto, but then he leaves and she basically became obsessed over him.

'I wonder what she is going to think about when she knows that Sasuke is also in this,' thought Neji with a mental smirk. He then glanced at Hinata who looked pretty normal for someone that had just lost her father. But it seemed that she didn't care about putting appearances anymore.

The Hyuuga clan was also in a big mess at the moment. The elders still didn't know what to do without a clan head. Of course Neji would know what to do about that, but that would be for later.

"I suppose that no one has any objections?" asked Shikamaru with a serious look on his face while looking at Sakura.

And of course if anyone were to have any objections it would be her and perhaps Hinata, but with Naruto apparently killing her father, Shikamaru didn't suspect in her trying to object.

But Sakura didn't say anything though.

Seeing no objections, Shikamaru continued. "Then it's settled. Naruto is now hereby considered an enemy to all of us. We are not to try to talk to him anymore."

Tenten glanced at Sakura as well, but didn't say anything either.

"If that's over, then we have things to do at the moment," commented Neji as he looked at Hinata. "The Hyuuga clan currently has an important meeting that we must attend."

Shikamaru nodded, understanding. A new clan head was needed after all.

Both Neji and Hinata began to walk away. 'Idiots' thought Neji thinking of Shikamaru and the rest. 'If they think that they can actually stop him….'

* * *

><p>"Are you going to be going with us as well?" asked Mei as she along with Yagura, Ao, and some swordsman named Chojuro stood in front of the village gates in Kiri.<p>

Mito, along with Kushina and Fuka, nodded. "Yes. The Kage meeting…that's where the curtain will fall and the real beginning of this will start. So we need to be there."

Yagura glanced at both Utakata and Hotaru. "Are you sure that you want her to come along?" asked Yagura to Utakata.

Said jinchuriki shook his head. "She's not."

Hotaru looked down at that. She of course wanted to tag along because Utakata was going, but he didn't want her to come along because he said that it was 'too dangerous.' She could take care of herself!

"There's also something that I want to look into after this," said Mito but didn't elaborate.

"We better get moving then," said Mei, the Mizukage hat in hand.

"Things will get interested," commented Fuka with a smile.

Kushina also smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. She couldn't believe how much she missed her son. Maybe it had something to do with the circumstances as to how he was born that night. Her thinking that she would never be able to spend any time with him.

"Let's go then," said Mito, the others behind her. "To the Land of Iron!"

* * *

><p>Danzo stood within his tent within his camp in the Land of Iron, the remainder of his faithful followers kneeling in front of him.<p>

"Our time has arrived," declared Danzo he spoked to his Root anbu. "Before the Kage Meeting ends tomorrow, I shall not only be the Hokage, but also the leader of all the shinobi nations!"

All of the Root anbu merely listened to their leader intently, soaking up all of his words.

"No one will stand in our way. Our era will commence no matter what! No one, not even Uzumaki Naruto, will stand in our way!"

"HAI, DANZO-SAMA!"

Danzo could smile as he looked at his gathered force. Yes, he would succeed. He might of lost the scroll that he had been looking for, but he still possessed Shisui's eye.

With it, he could not lose. He would use it to take control of the meeting and make sure that he would be chosen as the new leader of all the shinobi nations.

And he would make it happen.

* * *

><p>"So you guys really are back!"<p>

Both Roshi and and Han glanced back down the street to see an Iwa kunoichi running up to them enthusiastically.

"Who are you….?" sake Roshi.

The young kunoichi pouted as she stopped in front of both the Iwa jinchuriki.

"How could you not remember me?" said the girl with playful tears on her eyes. "It's me! Kurotsuchi!"

Roshi's eyes widened. "No way!" he said and then smiled. "Well, would you look at yourself. You've grown, Kuro-chan!"

Kurotsuchi scowled at the nickname. "Don't call me that! I'm not a little girl anymore, you know!"

Roshi chuckled. "I see…sorry."

Kurotsuchi glanced at Han. "Still quite as ever, are you?"

"I suppose you could call it that," replied Han softly.

Kurotsuchi smiled at them. "But it's really great to see you two though! C'mon!" She linked her arms with both jinchuriki. "We need to catch up with each other while we can! The old man will no doubt take you two to the Kage Meeting so we need to hang out now!"

Roshi smiled softly at the young girl while Han's eyes merely soften a bit.

It was good be alive alright.

* * *

><p>Yugito sighed as she laid on a bed within one of the many tents in the makeshift camp of the army Killer Bee had gone to talk to the Raikage about something that Yugito didn't really know what it was about.<p>

But her mind was currently preoccupied on what was going to be happening soon. Funny that the first time that she had met Naruto she obviously had not expected for him to actually make something as big as this possible. That also seemed like a long time ago. But how long ago was it really? A couple of weeks or more? Yugito didn't know.

**"Trouble kitten?"**

'You have no idea,' replied Yugito.

Matatabi chuckled. **"Don't worry. I'm sure that Naruto will definitely protect you!"**

'You're still going on about that?' asked Yugito with a shake of her head. 'That's just never going to happen.'

**"And that's because you're just simply too stubborn," **retorted Matatabi.

'Call it what you will, but I'm not about to just give myself as easily as that. I'm better than that,' stated Yugito.

**"I know, but trust me when I say that you will not regret it if you do."**

'Just why are you that intent with me getting with him anyways?' questioned Yugito.

**"Because he's the next chosen that's why! And that's the perfect mate for my jinchuriki!"**

'Mate!?' thought Yugito incredulously before something else caught her attention. 'Wait, what do you mean by the 'chosen?'

Matatabi cursed quietly at that. **'Dammit. Shinigami-sama told me to not tell anyone about it yet. Damn my mouth!'**

'Well?' said Yugito.

**"...Just forget it. But you should still listen to my advice. You'll never regret it."**

Yugito cut off her link with her bijuu, not wanting to listen to the bijuu any longer. But the temptation did still remain with her. How would it be...one night with Uzumaki Naruto?

'Maybe not too bad...'

* * *

><p>"It's done."<p>

Naruto touched his bandaged eyes. He could feel it indeed. The power oozing from them.

'So this is the eternal mangekyo…now I can use the sharingan without any worries.'

**"It's still shocking that the Uchiha woman possesses eyes that are as old as from the Shinobi Clan War era. And from Madara's relatives as well."**

'It makes no difference to me,' thought Naruto. 'Just as long as it works.'

"You'll need to let your body to get adjusted to them, so you'll have to stay in bed for now."

Of course Mikoto didn't think that it would take that long considering that the Kyuubi was sealed in Naruto. The bijuu would no doubt speed up the process.

Naruto sighed at that. "This will not be fun…" muttered Naruto. He was still energetic as ever if not more and staying in bed doing nothing to do with all of his energy was not going to be easy.

Mikoto chuckled as she pushed Naruto back into the bed and climbed on top of him. "Don't worry. I'm sure I can help you pass the time."

Naruto would have raised an eyebrow if he could but wasn't going to say no. So he placed his hand on both sides of Mikoto's shapely hips. "It would be appreciated."

Mikoto rolled her eyes. "Of course it would."

* * *

><p>"So you're awake."<p>

Fu shook her head as she stood up in a sitting position from the bed that she presumed that she had been sleeping on. Just what had happened? The last thing that she remembered was….

"Danzo!" she exclaimed as she looked around.

"Woah, calm down," said Obito as he walked up towards her form the wall that he had been leaning on. "You're safe right now."

"Obito," said Fu in relief. She then looked around, not recognizing the room. "Where am I?"

"You're in a safe house at the moment," answered Obito. "You sure have missed a lot of things."

"Where is Naruto?" asked Fu.

"In Kumo," answered Obito. "I was there too but then I got bored so I thought I could pay you a visit. Although I didn't expect for you to wake up."

Fu then got out of the bed showing that she was only wearing a common white hospital gown. "I need to go see him then."

Obito shook his head at that. "He's currently…busy," said Obito with a slight roll of his eyes.

"What am I suppose to do then?" asked Fu.

"Just get dressed," answered Obito as he made his way out of the door. "I'm sure that you must be hungry."

And true to his statement, Fu's stomach made it's presence known, making Fu blush in embarrassment.

Obito chuckled. "I'll get you something to eat. You'll need the strength for what's going to happen. I'll also fill you in as to everything that has happened."

"Thanks," said Fu as Obito walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

**"It's good to see you well."**

Fu smiled as she heard Chomei's voice. 'Thanks Chomei.'

Chomei didn't respond.

Fu then walked up to one of the closets in the room where she presumed that her clothes would be in. But instead she found a different outfit. It consisted of brown boots, a one piece short sleeve brown outfit that ended as a mini skirt and covered her entire chest and stomach areas but exposed her upper back, brown fingerless gloves and gray stockings.

There was also a note attached to it. It read:

_To Fu from Mito. I'm sure that you will enjoy this new change of wardrobe. No thanks are needed. Just simply enjoy._

'Who's Mito?' wondered Fu but shook her head. She didn't know how long she had been out, so it was obvious that she would have missed some things.

'I'll just worry about it later.'

She then proceeded to change into her new outfit.

* * *

><p>Within one of the old laboratory in underground Konoha, Kabuto chuckled as he read the scroll that he had took from Uzu more carefully.<p>

'Now I'll be able to summon those four after all….' thought Kabuto.

But he better hurry. He had to be ready for when Tsunade would leave towards the Land of Iron.

'Naruto-kun,' thought Kabuto. 'You are indeed powerful. But will you be able to handle the combine power from all of the combine forces of all the shinobi that I will summon?'

Kabuto honestly didn't think so. And once Naruto was out of the picture, Sasuke was his next target.

And then he would truly be closer to learning the secrets of the Rikudo Sennin.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Now I want to say something. Yes, I had already planned as to whom the sharingan eyes that Mikoto had implanted into Naruto belonged to and that I would make Madara have another OC brother besides Izuna to make Naruto have the eternal. It helped though that apparently the manga revealed Madara's father and that Madara apparently had TWO other brothers besides Izuna.**

**I just wanted to make that known. That being said, this makes another chapter finished and a very boring one in my opinion and I apologize for that but this is all to just set things up for the next chapter and the Kage Meeting.**

**So please bear with it. And that's it for me. Do tell me what you thought besides it being 'boring.'**

**Till next time.**


	39. The Kage Summit pt I

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 38:<br>Kage Summit part I**

"Oi! Can we stop to rest for at least for a few minutes!? I'm dying over here!"

"Stop complaining! If you can't keep up, we'll just leave you behind!"

"Hey! I'm your brother!"

"Unfortunately..."

"What was that!?"

"Nothing! I didn't say anything! You must have heard wrong!"

Kankuro merely narrowed his eyes at his older sister, something that he hated being reminded of which said older sister did almost everyday, who was jumping from snowy tree branch to snowy tree branch beside him.

After a few seconds, Kankuro directed his gaze towards the person who was in front of them both. That person was Gaara, his younger brother and the Kazekage.

"Oi, Gaara! We've been going at this for hours! I'm dead tired over here! Besides, we're really early! Resting won't hurt our time schedule at all!"

But the male redhead merely kept hoping from tree branch to tree branch as if Kankuro hadn't said a word at all.

"Shut up!" retorted Temari with a whisper at his side with an angry look on her face. "Don't you understand how important this is for Gaara?" asked Temari. "This whole meeting is about Naruto, who Gaara happens to think of as his best friend! Have you forgotten about that?"

Kankuro shrunk back a bit in resignation. "I know that," he responded, also in a whisper. "But us being tired at the meeting without any need to be will only backfire in the end."

"You're right," agreed Temari with a nod before glancing at Gaara. "But at this point, fatigue is the least of Gaara's worries. I'm sure you know what is likely to happen to Naruto considering everything that he has done since he returned, right?"

Kankuro sighed at that. Of course he knew. Not only had Naruto attacked Konoha, but rumor has it that he had something to do with the utter turmoil that was occurring in Ame at the moment. Ame was easy pickings for anyone at the moment, even the minor hidden villages. Of course no one had tried anything so far which greatly surprised Kankuro. From what he knew and had heard about the current leader of Iwa, the Tsuchikage would have jumped at this opportunity to expand Iwa's territory. But why didn't he?

As to why the minor villages hadn't attacked, well Kankuro could understand that at least. They probably feared that one of the main shinobi villages like Kumo or Konoha would retaliate which would only cause more cons than pros in the long run. Of course Konoha wasn't in any position to try anything, but there were more shinobi villages besides Konoha.

"He's most likely to be branded as a wanted international criminal and if captured, he would be killed for treason," answered Kankuro with another sigh.

Now that he thought more about it, Kankuro could see as to why Gaara wanted for this meeting to begin as soon as possible. But that raised an interesting question-what would Gaara do? Would he stick up for Naruto or agree that Naruto was now a threat and should be eliminated?

'Gaara…' thought Kankuro.

Temari returned her gaze forward, seeing that Kankuro now understood as to why Gaara was such in a hurry. And much like Kankuro, she was extremely worried about her younger brother.

A few moments later however, surprise appeared in both of their faces as Gaara stopped all of a sudden.

"Gaara?" said Temari with a tilt of her head and a questioning look on her face.

"We will take a brake now," Gaara said simply without turning to look at them.

At that, Temari shot an annoyed look at Kankuro who brought his hands up in defense to shield himself from anything that Temari could throw at him.

'How is this my fault!?' thought Kankuro incredulously.

Temari sighed. He wasn't worth the trouble she realized. Besides, as much as she had berated Kankuro for stating that he was too tired to continue, she too was tired but understood how important this was to Gaara to not voice her tiredness. But thanks to the selfishness of Kankuro, it seemed that she would be able to relax for a bit.

Gaara was merely looking up at the gray sky as more snow fell on the ground, not paying any attention to either of his siblings.

'Naruto…' thought Gaara, troubled.

* * *

><p>Tsunade looked around her surroundings with open distaste as she calmly walked through the area down a snow covered road.<p>

"This is why I have never liked the Land of Iron," she stated while looking at the falling snow. "It's always snowing!"

To her left, someone chuckled. "Now that's not very nice. The people who live here would not appreciate that comment."

Tsunade looked at said person and scowled. With little to no sleep in the past two nights, she was not in the mood for any type of crap. Especially from this individual. "Does it look like I care?" she retorted.

The person rose an eyebrow. "I think you should. After all, you're the Hokage. Your actions reflect that of your village. Comments like those are some of the reasons why petty wars are fought and sometimes even for less!"

Even in her annoyed and sleep deprived mood, Tsunade had to agree with that. But that didn't mean that she was going to admit to that out loud. So instead she merely turned her head away from the person with a huff.

"Shut up Kabuto…"

Kabuto merely chuckled in response as he readjusted his glasses.

Kakashi for his part was walking calmly on Tsunade's right, currently reading an oh so familiar book accompanied by his giggles and blush. Meaning that he was paying no attention towards the little conversation taking place with his other two traveling companions.

'The reincarnation of the snake pedophile and a pervert,' thought Tsunade with twitching eyebrows. 'What did I do to deserve this!?'

* * *

><p>"So this is the Land of Iron huh…not exactly what I expected considering the name."<p>

Everyone present could only roll their eyes at Utakata's statement. Although there was some merit to it. Why call a place that snowed most of the time, if not all, 'The Land of _Iron_?'

"Names don't mean much regarding this place" said Mei while walking at a normal pace with the rest of her companions. "Considering that this is the only area that is not influenced by any type of shinobi movement or the sort, it's the best place to have a meeting as important as this."

"So it's run by samurais," said Utakata with a bored look on his face, his hands behind his head. "What's to stop them from being bought over by some other faction?"

"It's their code," answered Yagura. "It strictly says that samurai in no way are to be dragged into the affairs of the shinobi world."

"Well them hosting this meeting kind of destroys that doesn't it?" retorted Utakata.

"In a sense." It was Mito who answered this time who was walking right beside Mei. "But they are the only nation that is truly one hundred percent neutral. Everyone else either is aligned with someone else or has his own motives to accomplish. This is also one of the major reasons that no one has ever tried to conquered this nation. It serves as the only true buffer zone. The leader of the samurai merely offers advice in whatever matter that the meeting is taking place for. Nothing else."

Utakata didn't respond. He had already lost interest in the topic. The way of the samurai was something that he never did have any interest for. He was just merely curious as to why the meeting was taking place here of all places.

'I do agree about the snow part though,' thought Kushina while rubbing her gloved hands together within the akatsuki cloak. Kushina was not a fan of cold weather. And considering that she had Kurama sealed within her most of the time, she had never felt cold.

Fuka was also in a similar state. Since she had never once been to the Land of Iron before this, she hadn't been prepared to deal with the cold. Not only that, but her outfit consisted of very short and tight shorts. Not the best type of clothing that one would like to wear under such climatic conditions.

'Mito should have warned me,' thought Fuka with twitching eyebrows. 'Or better yet, I should have looked this place up!' But how was she suppose to have had known that it was going to be this cold?

'New Akatsuki, huh?' thought Mei while glancing at Kushina, Fuka, Yagura, and Utakata. Mito was the only one that was not wearing the akatsuki uniform, instead going with one of her elaborate kimonos once again. How she could walk, let alone fight, in one of those things was beyond Mei's comprehensions.

'I wonder if Kiri could become part,' thought Mei. Truth of the matter was that she was extremely overjoyed at the fact that so many Uzumakis still existed, although only one was male apparently. Now you might be thinking that she was crazy in saying that about five or six Uzumakis was 'many.' But considering as to what the strike force had been tasked into doing, mainly leaving no survivors period, well she could accept five or six as 'many' in this situation.

'This will be the first step into truly trying to reform Kiri in what it did so many years ago,' thought Mei with a small smile. But she would have to convince both Naruto and Mito first. She could see that the two were the core in this whole situation and group. Especially Naruto. But that was easier said than done.

After all, Naruto was trying to kill every single person in Konoha, no matter if they knew about the Uzumaki's betrayal or not. Could such a person be persuaded to turn a blind eye towards the place that actually took part in the attack?

Mei doubted that very much. But there wasn't any harm in trying. Was there?

* * *

><p><strong>Achoo!<strong>

"Dammit! Who the hell keeps talking about me!?"

Mikoto chuckled as she ran one of her fingers down Naruto's well defined stomach. "Shouldn't you be glad that you're so popular now? After all, wasn't that your dream when you were younger?"

The Uzumaki and Uchiha were currently found in none other than the Raikage's mansion in the main bedroom, laying in one giant king size bed. Meaning that it was A's very own bedroom. If said man ever found out as to what took place for an entire night….well that would be a fun experiment. What exactly would he do?

Naruto rolled his eyes, having discarded the bandages that had been there the day before. "I'm not the same person that I was three years ago," stated Naruto with a serious look. "I was naive back then. But that was the past. Now…"

Mikoto interrupted him by placing her mouth over his. After having run out oxygen to breath, Mikoto departed her lips from his.

"I know that you're not the same person," said Mikoto with a smile. "I was just joking. No need to get all serious."

Naruto merely stared at her for a few seconds, as if trying to figure something out.

"What is it?" asked Mikoto, feeling a bit self-conscious under the blond's intense gaze.

"I was just wondering," began Naruto while turning his gaze up to the ceiling, "just what kind of person I would have turned out to be if I had stayed with Jiraiya that day…."

Mikoto merely kept quiet, silently urging him to continue.

"Would I have become a better person?" said Naruto, almost as if he was asking the question to himself. "Did I really make the right choice?"

"I can't answer that," responded Mikoto with a soft voice causing Naruto to look at her. "That is something that you will have to answer yourself. But I believe that everything happens for a reason. The very fact that you and I are currently in this position along with the others….well there has to be a reason for it. It's true that the choices you make define what kind of person you will become. But if you turn out to become a better or worst person depending on a particular choice, then that is something that you have to decide for yourself. To see if you really are proud of who you are. The person that you yourself chose to be."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly at that. Just what the hell was he thinking about? He had come this far, with no regrets so far. It was there that Naruto realized something. Yes, he was indeed proud of himself, of everything that he had accomplished.

'I don't know who I would be if I had chosen a different road,' thought Naruto. 'But it doesn't matter. All that matters is walking down the one that I have chosen and dealing with the consequences of taking that road.'

The next thing Mikoto knew, Naruto was on top of her, kissing her with great force. The atmosphere changed from serious to sexual in less than a second. Well Mikoto didn't mind. She could go another round before getting ready to set out for the Land of Iron. But that wasn't the case apparently as the door opened and two individuals walked in.

"Nine! What's up-…..oh."

Naruto could sigh in frustration as he turned to look at both Yugito and Bee who were standing in front of the entrance, rooted on the spot.

Well Yugito was. Bee merely had both of his thumbs raised up in an approving matter a second after seeing what exactly was happening at the moment.

**"Well would you look at that kitten! That damn Uchiha woman took **_**your **_**mate! What are you going to do about it!?"**

But Yugito's mind was too focused on Naruto's naked body to hear anything that her bijuu was saying. A small blush appeared on her face.

Mikoto scowled as she used the covers to cover herself. 'That damn cat,' she thought, focusing her ire on Yugito, not that said woman actually noticed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Naruto, trying to not show his irritation.

"We were told that you were currently in big bro's room," answered Bee. "So we came here." Although it was kind of surprising to Bee for the moment. His brother wasn't the kind of person that would allow anyone to use his private chambers. But then he pushed the thought out of his head. There was no point in thinking about something like that.

"You still didn't answer my question," replied Naruto, one of his eyebrows twitching momentarily. "What are you doing here?"

"Big bro left to head towards the Land of Iron hours ago," answered Bee. "So we were wondering when we're going to move as well."

Naruto sighed in frustration within his mind. They interrupted him and Mikoto for something like that? Granted he had been going at it with Mikoto almost entirely the night before, but the fact still remained-Mikoto was hot. So any chance to hook up with her was something that Naruto would not pass up. But instead he got interrupted…

"You don't have to worry about that," answered Naruto with a wave of his hand. "I'll tell you when we will leave."

"Wait a moment!" said Yugito, finally coming out of her shock.

"What is it?" asked Naruto calmly.

"Just what exactly do you think that you two were doing in Raikage-sama's room!?" she exclaimed.

"What does it look like?" It was Mikoto who replied. "We were having sex and were to contiune when you two interrupted us."

'This bitch!' thought Yugito.

**"Oh? And here I thought that you didn't want to hook up with Naruto?"**

'I don't!'

**"Then what's up with the jealous fit that you're throwing right now?"**

Seeing no dignified answer that she could give, Yugito cut her link with a laughing Matatabi and walked out of the room.

Bee merely stood there, both of his thumbs still raised up.

"Umm…you can go now," said Naruto with a slight roll of his eyes.

"Nine….you rock." With that, Bee walked out of the room, taking out his rap notebook in the process and closing the door behind him.

'Right….' thought Naruto before glancing at Mikoto who was heading towards the bathroom. Seeing a chance to continue before they had been interrupted, Naruto made to follow.

Mikoto looked over her shoulder with a slight smirk, noticing Naruto's intentions. "Sorry. But it looks like our time is up for now. So don't think about following me in there."

Naruto could only stare at her in shock. "Seriously?"

Mikoto nodded. "Seriously." With that, she continued to walk towards the bathroom, all the while knowing that Naruto was staring at her round ass.

Naruto could only curse thoroughly in his mind as Mikoto closed the bathroom door. That's when another being made his presence known.

**"Oh yeah. This is exactly how someone wants to wake up to a brand new day. BEING CURSED AT!"**

'Hello to you too Kurama…' thought Naruto with a sigh.

Kurama merely scoffed.

* * *

><p>"Wow!"<p>

Fu could only look around the many buildings in Kumo in awe, having never been in Kumo before. In fact, besides Konoha, she had never traveled to any other place outside of Taki before Obito had shown up.

Thinking about that, now that moment seemed like a long time ago. But Fu honestly couldn't be happier in having said yes to Obito and having chosen to accompany him. Not only had she finally gotten out of Taki, the place that she hated the most in the world, but she was also able to experience and see a whole different part of the world.

'Although I could have passed on some of them,' thought Fu, thinking about what Danzo had done to her. But that was a small negative in Fu's opinion. All the positives made all of this worth it in Fu's mind.

'Not only have I actually been able to truly live my life, but I also met Naruto.' Now Fu didn't exactly know what she felt about the blond. Was it love? Fu could say that no, for the moment it wasn't that. But it was getting there, that was for sure.

'The first person that I hook up with and I end up falling for him,' thought Fu with a shake of her head before smiling. Who was she kidding? She was extremely happy to have strong feelings for Naruto and there was no way that she was going to try to reject them.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Fu looked behind her to see Obito standing there with his hands on his packets, an amused look on his face.

Fu nodded. "Yes I am," she answered before pouting. "Now can you take me to go see Naruto? You made me wait an entire night already!"

'For your own good,' thought Obito. He knew that Mikoto would not like for anyone to interrupt her 'personal' time with Naruto.

'To think that she's actually getting laid again,' thought Obito in amusement. But he shouldn't be too surprised. It was exactly how Madara predicted that she would act after all. And to think that she didn't even know everything about Naruto either….

"Are you there?"

Fu's voice brought Obito out of his train of thought. "Sorry," he said with a chuckle, "I was just thinking about something…."

Fu rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. But if you're done, can we go now?"

'Persistent girl,' thought Obito with a sigh before nodding.

"Let's go."

The two disappeared in a vortex.

* * *

><p>"Teme."<p>

"Dobe."

"Duckass."

"Whiskers."

"Emo!"

"'Dattebayo-chan!'"

Mikoto could only sigh to herself as she watched her son and Naruto engage in a verbal fight within the Raikage's office. Why? They had nothing better to do at the moment.

'Seriously?' thought Yugito with a sweatdrop. Bee was currently humming to himself and writing something down in his notebook while both Karin and Suigetsu could only stare at the sight in front of them with a sweatdrop each as well.

That was the sight that both Obito and Fu arrived to as they appeared within the office as well thanks to Obito's teleportation jutsu.

"Naruto!" said Fu as she ran up him to hug him, having already known who he was the second that she saw the whiskers.

"Fu?" said Naruto in surprise as he caught the shorter mint haired jinchuriki. Naruto then smiled. "When did you wake up?"

"Yesterday," answered Fu while still hugging him. She then looked him over with a raised eyebrow. "What happened to you?"

"It's a long story," replied Naruto while shaking his head.

'Another one!?' thought Yugito with low growl as she watched the interaction between Naruto and Fu.

'Nine is the man, yo!' thought Bee.

**"Hmm…it appears so,"** agreed the Hachibi.

Suigetsu could only scowl. 'Lucky bastard….' he thought.

Sasuke merely looked at Fu with a small smirk. 'Not that bad dobe…although,' he glanced at Karin momentarily, 'I have my own too.'

Sasuke really didn't know what had come over him when he had first slept with Karin on their way to Iwa those many nights ago. It just seemed like the right thing for some reason. And of course he didn't regret it. On the contrary, he actually very much enjoyed it.

Of all the girls that Sasuke had ever come to known, Karin was the only one that wasn't just after him because of his status or looks. Although the latter did have a role to play but that was natural. No. It all just came down to his chakra. Although Sasuke himself didn't really fully understand the whole deal behind it, he wasn't going to question it.

Of course he still hadn't told his mother yet and was not going to either. And he had made sure that Karin wouldn't either.

"It's about time to head out," said Mikoto as she walked up towards Obito.

Naruto himself smirked as Fu continued to hug him. "Indeed. It's time to get this show started."

The others could only nod. They were eager to start this.

* * *

><p>Sakura walked down one of the many rebuilt streets in Konoha, shock present all over her face. But for all that knew what exactly had taken place the day before and just recently announced today...well it wouldn't be too surprising.<p>

And was that? The answer was simple: Hinata, yes the shy and lovable Hinata that is in love with Naruto, was now the clan head of the Hyuuga clan...the fuck?

Now you might be thinking as to how in the world Hinata had managed to become the clan head. And that was a two part answer. The first part was Neji-he had managed to convince that Hinata was the only choice since she was the eldest of the daughters of Hiashi, so naturally she deserved to be the new clan head. Since Neji was praised as the prodigy of the Hyuuga, most listened to him intently and agreed with him completely. Of course some had rejected the idea since they thought that Hinata was worthless and that Hiashi himself had been considering Hanabi for the new clan head.

So what had Neji done? He asked for a match between the two to take place. There was a risk in that of course. If Hinata lost, Hanabi became the new clan head. Of course she would have advisors considering that she was only thirteen for the moment. And yes, Hanabi was actually that strong with her byakugan already. Even Neji had admitted to that much mused Sakura.

And that was where the second part in all of this and the stranger one came into play. Hinata, sweet, kind, and lovable Hinata had completely destroyed her sister.

Of course Sakura hadn't been there to see the fight, but she had already seen Hanabi's body at the hospital. To simply put it, Hanabi was lucky to be alive at all. From the bruises of the attacks, it would seem as if Hinata had been going in for the kill.

Which was confusing to Sakura in so many levels. There was just no way that Hinata would ever do something like that...right?

'Just what is going on?' wondered Sakura. It was like as if Hinata was a whole new person. And not a better one either.

'Things just don't make any sense anymore...'

* * *

><p>"Welcome. As per the request of the Kazekage, the five kage have all gathered here in the Land of Iron. I am Mifune, your moderator," stated a calm voice coming from the now identified Mifune, leader of the samurai. He had long grey hair with bandages around his head. He also had a gray goatee and a mustache.<p>

"I hereby declared this Five Kage Summit Conference in session!" he declared.

What followed after that were a few minutes of intense and awkward silence. Each kage had a staring contest with each other, trying to see who would back down first.

Sitting behind Tsunade up in the stands, Kabuto could only chuckle silently as he watched all of this.

'I guess this is to be expected from the idiocity of the five kage,' thought Kabuto.

Kakashi cast a momentarily glance at Kabuto before focusing his attention to the meeting.

Behind Onoki, Roshi cast a glance at each of the kage. 'So these are all the strongest shinobi in the shinobi world…'

Within Roshi's mind, the Yonbi let out a small snort in amusement. **"You know that's a total lie. There are stronger shinobi out there that are not the five kage."**

'I suppose you're right about that….'

Han merely watched the proceedings with a calculating look on his face.

"Since I was the one who called you all here, I suppose I should start first then," stated Gaara with a calm voice, braking the tense silence.

Onoki let out a snort in amusement. "My, my, seems like they're just letting anyone become a kage these days. Or is it just because your village doesn't have anyone better than a sixteen year old brat?"

From his spot Kankuro scowled at Onoki. 'That old fart…'

'Of course Onoki would say something like this,' thought Tsunade with a sigh. 'He hasn't changed one bit.'

A merely kept silent.

"Tsuchikage-sama," began Mei with her ams folded, "there's no need to make fun of him. Please continue, Kazekage-sama."

As if not hearing what Onoki had said, Gaara did just that. "As I'm sure that you're all aware, this meeting was suppose to be about Akatsuki and how to stop them once and for all."

Onoki let out another snort. "Ridiculous. Each village should be prepare to handle a simple threat as Akatsuki."

''Simple threat',' thought Kabuto with a shake of his head. 'Is Onoki serious?' Of course Kabuto should have expected that. After all, he had taken advantage of that idiocity and had kill a bunch of Iwa shinobi for the sacrifices required for the **Edo Tensei**, and Onoki didn't even know that he was the one who did it! Kabuto silently chuckled again.

"I am a former jinchuriki," stated Gaara. "The Akatsuki captured me and sealed my bijuu away, as well as many other jinchuriki."

'Not mine anymore,' thought Onoki with an internal smirk.

"That is why I consider Akatsuki to have had been a major threat. But now, it seems that someone else more dangerous has taken Akatsuki's place," said Gaara. "He's also the one responsible Ame's current situation."

Tsunade closed her eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

><p>"So you're finally here then."<p>

Naruto nodded as he and the rest appeared via Obito's teleportation jutsu, meeting with Mito and her group. They were all currently on a cliff overlooking the structure as to where the Kage Summit was currently taking place at the moment.

"Sochi," said Kushina as she walked up to embrace him.

"We don't have time for that," said Mito as she turned her head to look at the structure. "We have important matters to attend to."

"Let's also not forget about Danzo," reminded Mikoto with narrowed eyes. "I'm sure that that bastard is around here somewhere."

"I'll let you guys take care of that," said Naruto while motioning towards Mikoto, Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Karin. "I'm sure that you'll want some payback."

Kushina looked at Naruto, confused. "But I thought-"

"Kabuto is here," stated Naruto, interrupting whatever Kushina was going to say. "He has something that we want back."

Mito nodded. "Indeed."

'What would that be?' wondered Sasuke before shaking his head. He could wonder about that some other time.

"Well then," said Mikoto as she started to walk away. "We'll deal with Danzo. Oi, Zetsu! Come out! We're going to need your help here."

"Hai, hai," said White Zetsu with a chuckle as he appeared on the ground along with Black Zetsu.

**"I'm going with you,"** stated Black Zetsu while staring at Naruto with his single eye.

Naruto shrugged. "Do whatever you want."

"Good luck then," said Mikoto as she and her group left, followed by White Zetsu who had separated himself from Black Zetsu.

"Now it's our turn," said Naruto before looking at Fu, Yugito, and Bee. "I'm sure that you three can create a bit of a diversion to keep our samurai friends busy until we're finished, am I right?"

Fu nodded. "Leave it to us!" she stated.

Yugito merely nodded while Bee brought his fist forward. "Bump fists with me, Nine-yo!"

Naruto merely did so with a chuckle, while Bee smirked.

When the three had left, Naruto turned to look at the ones that remained. They were Mito, Obito, Kushina, Fuka, Yagura, and Utakata.

"As for us," Naruto turned to face the building with a smirk, "we're heading straight into the belly of the beast."

* * *

><p>Back with the meeting, things were progressing with an even more tense atmosphere ever so present.<p>

"So Kazekage-_dono_," began Onoki, "what exactly do you propose that we do to stop the Kyuubi jinchuriki?"

"We form an alliance to stop him once and for all," answered Gaara without hesitation.

The other kages looked at the youngest of them all with surprise looks on their faces. That was until Onoki laughed.

"Do you hear yourself boy?" he said between laughs. "Do you honestly believe that anyone of us will actually agree to something like that? And against one single boy to? That's plain idiocity!"

"I'm in," stated Tsunade, catching Onoki off guard.

Mei narrowed her eyes at the blonde Hokage, but didn't say anything.

'Interesting,' thought Mifune while observing everything with a neutral and calculating look. 'This meeting is definitely an interesting one.'

Onoki scoffed at Tsunade. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you would agree," he said, making Tsunade look at him with a dark look. "After all, you let your own village be destroyed by this one single boy! Not to mention being fooled by him so easily!"

Kabuto could only sigh as he saw how much Tsunade's fists were shaking in anger. 'I guess it's time for the action to start then,' he thought to himself as he prepared to act as a good and loyal bodyguard. Tsunade would snap. It was just a matter of how long till she did.

"Konoha really has gone down the drain," continued Onoki, either not noticing Tsunade's rising ire or just simple not caring one bit. "You don't deserve the title of the 'strongest' anymore. Seriously, your predecessors would be ashamed of you."

That did it. With that last comment, Tsunade brought her fist upward.

"Kankuro," said Temari as she reached for her fan.

"I know,' responded Kankuro.

"Chojuro."

"H-hai."

As soon as Tsunade brought her fists down, all the bodyguards were in defensive positions around each of their perspective kage.

'So dull,' thought Darui, his sword drawn while observing everyone else.

All the others could only glance at each other, waiting to defend from an attack if need be.

Mifune could only sigh as he watched this. "Please. This is a place of discussion, not violence. Please refrain from using disruptive actions."

"Temari, Kankuro. Stand down," stated Gaara. Both Temari and Kankuro glanced at each other, but did as instructed.

"Ao, Chojuro. I'm fine," said Mei. "You can go back." They simply nodded.

Onoki merely tilted his up to the stands to tell both Roshi and Han that they could stand down as well.

Seeing the tension subside, both Kabuto and Kakashi went back to their places as well as Darui and C.

Tsunade took deep breaths in to calm herself and then looked at Onoki. If looks could kill, Onoki would only be a pile of goo on the ground right then and there.

"You have some nerve, you old coot," said Tsunade darkly.

Sensing and seeing the anger coming off from Tsunade, all the guards prepared to head into defensive positions once again if need be.

Onoki chuckled. "Hit a nerve, have I? Well it's the truth! You've stooped so low as to actually allow one of Orochimaru's personal best into your ninja ranks! Not only that, but you actually brought him here today as well!"

"You don't have a right to say anything Onoki," retorted Tsunade. "Everyone here knows that you're the most untrustworthy here out of all us."

Onoki narrowed his eyes at Tsunade which caused her to smirk.

'This is getting out of hand,' thought Mifune with another sigh.

"Fighting amongst ourselves is not what this summit is about," said Gaara as he looked at both Tsunade and Onoki. "Uzumaki Naruto is the problem here."

"You can count me out," said Onoki. "Forming an alliance with any of you is out of the question for me!"

"Really?" said Mei with an air of disbelief. "Because from what I understand, you didn't have a problem working with both Kiri AND Kumo in the past to wipe out the Uzumaki clan. What has changed since then?"

Gaara's eyes widened at this information. 'Wipe out the Uzumaki clan?' thought Gaara.

Kabuto readjusted his glasses. 'Interesting...'

"Oi, oi, what's this about the Uzumaki clan?" whispered Kankuro to Temari with a shocked look on his face. Temari simply shook her head, indicating that she didn't know either.

'Does Naruto know about this?' wondered Temari. 'Because if he does…'

Onoki scowled at that. "That was…different."

"Different how?" retorted Mei. "Different in that you actually had something to gain by working with them?"

"Don't you dare talk to me in a disrespectful manner, you bitch!" said Onoki.

Ao narrowed his one eye. 'This guy…'

Mei merely stared at Onoki with a cold gaze.

Before anything else could happen, clapping was heard.

"Oi, what is that?" asked Kankuro while looking around.

"I don't know…." answered Temari with narrowed eyes.

Kabuto could only smirk. 'So he's finally here, huh….'

**"Roshi/Han….it's him."**

Both jinchuriki merely nodded.

'So it's time,' thought Mei.

"All five kage, the _greatest shinobi of the world_. Ha! What a joke."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she looked up on top of the stands as a vortex started to form. As a response, all the shinobi reappeared in front of each of their kage except for Kabuto who remained sitting in his spot. Not that Tsunade cared about at the moment. She would deal with that later.

Naruto chuckled as he and the rest appeared out of the vortex.

"Naruto," said Tsunade with gritted teeth.

"That's Naruto?" asked Kankuro with a 'what the fuck?' look on his face. Temari was also in a similar state.

Gaara merely gazed at Naruto.

'Black cloaks with red clouds on them...' thought Onoki.

"You," began Tsunade, noticing Mito and Kushina, "what are you all doing here!?"

Naruto chuckled.

"It's the beginning of war!"

* * *

><p>"Danzo-sama. All preparations are finished. We can commence whenever you are ready."<p>

Danzo nodded his head, satisfied. "Good, Fuu. Now then, shall we-"

He stopped mid-sentence as blood hit his cheek. Said blood belonged to none other than Fuu, who now had a sword sticking out of where his heart should be.

Danzo immediately jumped back and landed with a defensive position, the rest of his Root anbu within the camp going into defensive positions as well.

"It's about time that we met, Danzo," stated Mikoto emotionlessly, sharingan activated. She retracted her sword out of Fuu, causing the the body to fall on the snowy land with a thump. Sasuke was then at her side, his eternal activated and directed at Danzo. Both Karin and Suigetsu merely stood to the other side.

White Zetsu was currently a good distance away, watching the whole thing with a smile on his face. Yeah...

Danzo's one visible eye narrowed. 'Can she be….?'

"Danzo," said Sasuke as he stepped forward, purple-ish energy coming out of his body, "I will kill you here today," stated Sasuke with an insane look on his face.

That was the first time that Danzo ever came close to feeling fear.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Another update, another chapter! I gotta say, I'm kind of excited about this one, especially the ones afterwards. The true end has finally come!**

**Well actually no, there's still a few things left. But meh, this is kind of the start though.**

**So yeah, I don't really have anything else to say. Oh yeah one thing though, a little error last time-Madara had three brothers instead of two….my bad. But mistakes like that do happen sometimes.**

**Tell me what you thought of this chapter. I'll try to have the next update as soon as possible, but I can't promise when exactly. I suppose that does it for me. Review!**

**Till next time.**


	40. The Kage Summit pt II

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 39:<br>The Kage Summit pt. II**

Fu calmly walked through one of the corridors within the lower levels of the building where the Kage Summit was currently taking place in the Land of Iron.

Bee was a step behind her, writing things down within his rap notebook once again, looking as if he wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings. But those who knew him better would know that he was paying the outmost attention, just doing what he was currently doing to fool enemies as well the fact that he, well liked to write down all his ideas on any new rap lyrics that came to his mind.

Finally at the back of the three was Yugito who had a look of indifference. After all, what they were doing was something revolutionary. She had to be prepared for anything.

After a few minutes of the three jinchuriki walking at a regular pace, they reached the end of the corridor. What laid next was a big room with many pillars present acting as supports. Not only that, but the room was full of armored samurai, their swords drawn.

**"Oi, Bee. Enough with your rapping. We have a job to do."**

'I know, fool ya fool,' responded the dark skinned glasses wearing jinchuriki.

With that, Bee placed his notebook in his kunai pouch and got in his stance, ready to take out any one of his eight swords at any given moment.

Both Fu and Yugito also got into defensive stances as well.

"You three," said the lead samurai in a gruff voice, "surrender immediately or we will use force to take you down."

Fu smirked lightly. "We could say the same to you, you idiot. Seriously, do you think that we would come all this way at this particular time when the Kage Summit was taking place to just simply surrender?"

Yugito also smirked. "As much as I hate to say it, she's right. And here I expected for samurais to be smarted than that."

Bee could only back away slightly from the two female jinchuriki, feeling the bloodlust that was starting to radiate from them both.

'What's up with them both, yo?' he wondered.

The Hachibi sighed within Bee's mind. **"Don't you get it? They don't get along with each other, and I'm sure you that you know as to why that is."**

'Nine….'

**"Exactly. Young Fu is obviously with Naruto and has feelings for him. Now, I don't know as to what Yugito feels about Naruto exactly, but it's obvious that she doesn't like the fact that they're together for some reason. Really, you humans are too complicated…."**

Bee smirked. 'That we are, Hachibi, that we are…'

The lead samurai growled, obviously not liking the fact that he was being made fun of. "Fine. It appears that you want to drag this out."

Fu rolled her eyes, an action that was mirrored by Yugito.

When the samurai that had spoken the whole time saw that, he snapped. He growled once again and a blue haze formed around his sword, the rest of the samurai following his lead as their swords had the same blue haze around them.

Yugito raised an eyebrow when she saw this, recognizing the blue haze as chakra. "Oh? So that's how they use chakra…."

**"Fu…don't dodge their attack."**

'What?' asked Fu with a raised eyebrow. 'What do you mean don't dodge it?' she questioned her bijuu.

**"Just do it. There's something that I want to test. But don't worry. I assure you that you won't be harmed. I'll make sure of it."**

Hearing the seriousness in the bijuu's voice surprised Fu greatly. Chomei had never been this helpful to her in the past. The only time that the bijuu had offered her any assistance in the past was when her life had been truly in danger. And even then, it was barely. But when Chomei had ever offered her assistance, Fu had gone berserk every single time as a result. Not to mention the damage that her body took from using Chomei's chakra every time that she did.

But now it looked like things were different. Fu honestly didn't know what had happened to change Chomei's mind about the subject, but she wasn't going to question it. Just like Naruto and Kyuubi, she wanted to have a friendly relationship with her bijuu. And it looked like it was going to happen to.

'Alright Chomei,' responded Fu. 'I trust you….'

Chomei didn't respond to that, not knowing what to say.

"Take this!" said the lead samurai as he swung both of his swords forward, the end result being energy from the swords to be released and directed towards the three jinchuriki, the rest of the samurai following his lead once more.

Both Bee and Yugito jumped out of the way of the projectiles of chakra, but Fu merely stood there.

'Is she stupid?' thought the lead samurai.

The attack hit dead on, a cloud of dust forming as a result.

'Why didn't she dodge!?' thought Yugito as she landed with a surprise look on her face.

**"Oh? Don't tell me that Chomei…"**

'Chomei?' repeated Yugito with a confused look. 'Who's that?'

**"Don't worry about that now," **respond Matatabi. **"But be prepare to see something that you won't see everyday."**

Before Yugito could question what the bijuu meant, the cloud of dust disappeared to reveal an uninjured Fu. But not only was she uninjured, but she was also covered in some sort of green armor, accompanied by two wings on her back. The armor covered both of her legs, her arms, as well as parts of her face, mainly her cheeks. The armor extended to Fu's back, and finally it split in half on her front side, exposing her stomach but covered the sides around it, as well as cover her breasts.

'What is this?' asked Fu as she looked at her arms, touching the green armor and feeling that it felt the really hard substance.

**"This is my armor,"** answered Chomei. **"But now you can use it as well."**

Fu was at a loss of words at the moment, but she wasn't the only one.

'What is that?' asked Yugito with wide eyes.

Matatabi chuckled. **"That's the true power of those jinchuriki that have Chomei within them. Of course, Chomei has to cooperate for this to be possible, and this is the first time that it has ever happened."**

'Wait, so 'Chomei' is the Nanabi?' asked Yugito, connecting the dots.

**"Correct."**

'So that means that you also have a name then…'

Matatabi became quiet at that. **"Yes I do…" **the bijuu finally answered.

'After this, I would like to know it…' stated Yugito with a small smile.

**"Why would you want to know that? You're always acting as I'm just an annoyance to you…"**

'That's because you're too much of a pervert!' retorted Yugito before calming herself. 'We'll talk about about this later.'

Matatabi didn't respond.

'So she and her bijuu are on good terms then,' thought Bee.

**"Hmm…indeed. Surprising though. Besides Kyuubi, Nanabi has always been the one who has hated humans the most out of all of us bijuu."**

'The bond between a bijuu and a jinchuriki is a wonderful thing, yo!'

The Hachibi merely chuckled.

"Oi, what is this!?" said the lead samurai, doubt starting to form within him as he gazed at Fu's form.

"Shinobi use weird techniques that's what!" exclaimed another samurai behind him.

'Well,' said Fu with a smile as the two wings on her back started to flap, 'let's try these babies out!'

And she did just that. All the samurai took a step back in surprise as they saw a flying Fu coming straight towards them, intending on knocking all of them out.

Yugito growled as she saw Fu starting to fight the samurai. 'No way is she hogging all the fun here!'

With that in mind, she got on all fours and headed towards where the fight had commenced at an incredible speed.

'Hmm…' thought Bee as he looked at the two female jinchuriki destroying each samurai that came their way.

**"Not going to join in?"** questioned the Hachibi.

'Na,' responded Bee as he took out his rap notebook once more and started to write something down. 'They got this.'

Truth of the matter was that Bee didn't want to get in the middle of both competing female jinchuriki, fearing for his health if he did so.

Sensing this, the Hachibi chuckled.

* * *

><p>Naruto could only smirk as he gazed at Tsunade's furious face. "Something wrong, <em>baa-chan<em>?" he asked with some mockery.

Tsunade could only shake in uncontainable fury. "You little brat," she said, "do you realize how stupid it was for you to come here!?"

Naruto took on a mocking thinking pose. "Umm…no?" He then smirked again. "Do you realize how stupid it is for you to continue to underestimate me after all that I have done?" he said to her with humor laced in his tone.

Before she could retort, both Mei and A calmly walked to stand right beneath where Naruto was, their bodyguards following their lead.

Understanding began to hit Tsunade. "You two…" she said in shock.

Mei nodded. "Yes. We're on his side," she stated.

A merely stayed silent.

"You see my granddaughter," said Mito with a smile, "we're not as stupid as to have just walked in here without a plan." 'Although even the five kage combine couldn't stop Naruto at this point,' finished Mito within her mind, not voicing it.

Onoki merely began to float away with a grunt. "I'm through with this," he merely said, motioning for both Roshi and Han to follow him.

But they didn't. They merely glanced at Naruto.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the Tsuchikage. "Be careful on what you're doing, old man…"

Onoki glanced back at him. "And you watch who you're talking to, you brat," he retorted.

"So he's also on your side as well then, Naruto," stated Gaara, glancing at Onoki for a second before turning his full attention towards the now gray haired Naruto.

Naruto merely crossed his arms. "That's debatable at this point," he responded.

Tsunade smirked at this. "Can't keep your own lackeys in line, can you?"

"I'm not his lackey!" responded Onoki with a scowl and then looked at Naruto. "If you think that I'm going to follow the orders of anyone, specially those of the brat of the damn Yondaime Hokage, then you're seriously mistaken!"

Naruto merely stared at him with a bored look.

"You better be careful what you say Tsuchikage," stated Mito with a hard look and cold eyes.

Onoki merely snorted. "This is of no interest to me anymore. Consider my help to you officially gone now. Roshi, Han. Let's go." He turned to resume his leaving, but both Roshi and Han didn't follow him once again.

Noticing this, Onoki turned towards them with an angry look. "What do you think that you're doing!? I'm telling you-"

"Sorry," interrupted Roshi with a shake of his head. "But we don't follow you anymore."

Both jinchuriki disappeared and appeared with the rest of Naruto's group, causing Onoki to only look at them in shock.

"You should have been more wiser," said Naruto with the same bored look before turning his attention to Tsunade and Gaara. "But you are of no importance to me now. But I would watch myself if I were you. I don't take kindly to betrayals."

Seeing no other alternatives for the moment, Onoki merely left. He wasn't going to try to fight a losing battle. He might be prideful, but he wasn't stupid.

"That's ironic," said Tsunade in sarcasm. "You who betrayed us doesn't like to be betrayed."

Naruto shrugged at that. "Take it anyway you want. What you think of me at this point is irrelevant to me now."

"Do you seriously believe that you're being the bigger person by doing what you're doing?" questioned Gaara while looking at Naruto straight in the eyes.

Naruto turned towards him. "No," answered Naruto without any hesitation. "All of us," he began, looking back momentarily at Mito and the rest before turing towards Gaara again, "we don't think that we're any better than any of you by choosing to do what we're doing. But when have we acted as if we thought that we believe that? No wait, you expected for me to take it with a goofy smile on my face as I have done in the past," said Naruto while turing to look at Tsunade.

"Well you know what? Im done with trying to be the good guy. To just allow for people to walk all over me. That old Naruto is gone," he stated with narrowed eyes.

Temari could only glance at Gaara worriedly. 'Gaara…'

Mifune took a step forward. "You have yet to explain as to what is your purpose for coming here. I doubt that it's just for a simple chat."

Naruto glanced at him. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"That's the leader of the samurai and The Land of Iron, Naruto-kun," answered Kushina with an amused sigh.

Getting the answer, Naruto then shrugged. "It's simple really. We're here for two reasons. The first is to declare the official start of the Fourth Shinobi War," he stated as if he was just talking about the weather.

Tsunade gasped. "Are you insane!?"

Naruto shrugged again. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. And as for the second reason," Naruto took a pause and then turned to where Kabuto was calmly sitting. "The second reason is to take something back that that bastard took from us."

Kabuto merely chuckled as he stood up. "And here I thought that you had forgotten about me. But it turns out that you came all this way for me? I'm honored really."

Mito scowled at him. "Don't flatter yourself, you bastard. That fuinjutsu belongs to the Uzumaki clan and to one else, least of all a maniac like you!"

Kabuto simply shrugged.

"Oi, what is she talking about Kabuto?" questioned Tsunade with narrowed eyes.

Naruto smirked when he saw this. "Oh? What's this? Can't keep your lackeys in line, can you?" he said, using the same insult that Tsunade had used on him.

Tsunade scowled at him but didn't respond. Instead she focused on Kabuto. "Answer me!"

"It's nothing," answered Kabuto as he jumped down and landed next to Tsunade. "It's just something to guarantee our victory here today."

"What is that suppose to mean?" asked Tsunade with doubt, but Kabuto didn't respond. Before she could question him, someone else spoke.

"I have a question for you," said Gaara while looking at Naruto.

Naruto sighed. "What is it?"

Gaara took a pause, and then said, "What is this about the Uzumaki clan being destroyed by Kiri, Kumo, and Iwa?"

Mei flinched at the reminder while A merely stood there looking indifferent.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the question. "What is it to you?"

"I'm trying to understand why you are doing this," responded Gaara.

Naruto shook his head. "You of all people should understand why I'm doing this Gaara," replied Naruto softly.

Gaara's eyes widened at that. 'He can't possibly mean…'

But Naruto focused his attention on both Tsunade and Kabuto instead. "Now, if we could begin here."

"Tsunade-sama," said Kakashi next to her, his sharingan ready. "What will we do?"

Tsunade had her eyes narrowed and directed at Kabuto.

Mito jumped down and landed between Mei and A. "There's nothing that you can do," she responded, "but to give up. Just accept that you can't win."

Tsunade turned to look at her grandmother. "I still have a bone to pick with you."

Mito raised an eyebrow. "Really? Fine then. See if you can entertain me for awhile then, my granddaughter." Mito was confident that Naruto would be more than enough to deal with Kabuto and recover the scroll that they wanted, so it wouldn't matter is she enjoyed toying with Tsunade for awhile.

Mito then appeared by the exit, motioning for Tsunade to follow and then took off with Tsunade right behind her.

"Now that's taken care of, shall we commence here," said Naruto while staring at Kabuto.

Mifune then appeared in front of Naruto, sword drawn and took a swipe at him, only for it to be blocked by another sword that belonged to none other then a smirking Kushina.

"I've always wanted to test my kenjutsu against a samurai," she stated with the present smirk. "And who better then the current head of the samurai. I'll be your opponent," she stated while pushing him back.

"Mifune-sama!" said Okisuke, one of Mifune's right hand men.

"I'll deal with this on my own," stated Mifune as he looked at Kushina.

"Gaara," began Kankuro, "what will we do?"

"Not interrupting," answered Mei as she stepped forward as well as A along with Darui and the rest.

Gaara narrowed his eyes. 'We have the disadvantage here…'

"Oi," said Roshi as he and Han landed in front of both Kakashi and Okisuke, "we'll be the ones fighting the two of you."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. 'I'll have to finish this quick,' he thought.

Obito smirked to himself before disappearing in a vortex.

Naruto, along with Yagura, Fuka, and Utakata jumped down to land in front of a grinning Kabuto.

"So it's four against one is it?" said Kabuto while shaking his head. "Now that seems highly unfair doesn't it? Why don't we even this out?"

He brought his hands together and six coffins rose from the ground.

Naruto smirked. "Now how is bringing six of your little puppets fair? Oh wait, that's because they don't add up to anything in the end."

Kabuto smirked as well. "Perhaps. But these six…I've made specially for you," he stated while chuckling.

Naruto's smirk fell as the openings of the coffins fell to the ground, revealing the six individuals that were inside.

Fuka could only stare in shock as she gazed at the six individuals that were present inside the coffins. 'No way…'

Yagura narrowed his eyes while Utakata could only sigh. 'Damn people making this complicated,' he thought.

"You have balls Kabuto," said Naruto with a serious look. "You have balls alright."

The six revived individuals were none other than both Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Namikaze Minato, and both Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna.

* * *

><p>'Is this Sasuke?' thought a slightly frightened Karin while staring at Sasuke's back. 'This chakra…it's cold.'<p>

Danzo merely looked at Sasuke with an impassive look on his face. "Do you seriously think that you can beat me boy?"

Sasuke didn't respond, instead staring at Danzo with a killing intent, his eternal amplifying the effect.

"Sasuke," said Mikoto in a serious tone from his side, "I trust that you can handle him?"

Sasuke merely did a small nod to confirm.

Mikoto nodded and then glanced at Suigetsu. "Oi, you. Le't go. We have to make sure that none of Danzo's lackeys interfere."

Suigetsu grinned while unstrapping Kubikiribocho from his back. "I take it that killing is allowed?"

Mikoto nodded. "Yes it is. In fact, kill them all. Leave no survivors."

Suigetsu grinned even more at that. His like towards Mikoto grew at that statement from the female Uchiha. "I see…well then, if you will excuse me." Suigetsu looked all around the inside camp to counting perhaps fifty or so Root members. He charged at them while preparing Kubikiribocho to chop them all down while emanating an incredible amount of bloodlust at the same time.

"You," said Mikoto looking at a shaking Karin, "don't interfere or else you will die." With that, Mikoto headed towards where Suigetsu was currently engaged with the Root anbu, intent on killing some of them herself.

"How foolish," said Danzo as he unstrapped the bandages that were covering his right arm, having already discarded the gauntlet-like mechanism that had been above the bandages. "That Mikoto, thinking that a brat like you could take me down."

Danzo had already recognized who Mikoto was and, while surprise, he would wonder about that later after he captured her. He was already making up plans for her, mainly use her to recreate the Uchiha clan, except one that would be under his control this time. Not one that planned rebellions. That was just too troublesome.

Sasuke's eyes widened as Danzo's entire right arm became visible, mainly at the fact that there were sharingan eyes that were embedded into it.

'How disgusting,' thought Karin while looking at the sharingan eyes. She wanted to puke at the sight.

"You," said Sasuke with anger, "where did you get those!?"

"That would take to much time to explain," replied Danzo calmly. "Time that I would not like to waste seeing as there's something more important that I need to deal with." Mainly the Kage Summit. No doubt that it had started already, and he needed to be there. And there was no way that he was going to allow a brat stop him from achieving his goals.

Sasuke scowled. "No matter," he said. "I'll still kill you."

Danzo didn't respond to that. Instead he form a couple of handsigns causing Sasuke to narrow his eyes.

Then Danzo charged towards the young Uchiha at an incredible speed, kunai in hand as he brought it forward to stab Sasuke. Sasuke didn't even try to dodge, instead allowing for his Susanoo to shield him.

Danzo's one visible eye widened as the blade of his kunai broke in half, caused by some sort of purple ribcage that had surrounded Sasuke.

'This is the Susanoo!' realized Danzo before a giant hand grabbed him roughly.

Danzo's eye widened even further as gazed at Sasuke's demonic looking Susanoo before being squashed by the Susanoo that had been holding him.

'That was it?' thought Karin before she felt Danzo's chakra again. "Sasuke, behind you!"

Sasuke looked back in an instant to see Danzo in mid-air, rapidly forming handsings.

**"Wind Style: Shinku Renpa!"**

Several blades of wind at different angles headed towards Sasuke, only for them to be blocked by Sasuke's already faced forward Susanoo thanks to its shield.

Danzo landed a few feet away and contemplated this new development. 'Susanoo, eh? This will not be as easy as I thought…'

The Susanoo would definitely be the only problem here. If he could found a way around it, he could defeat Sasuke easily thought Danzo. As much as of a prodigy that Sasuke was claimed to be, he was still just a boy.

'How is he still alive?' thought Karin. 'I'm sure that Sasuke killed him back there. Then how? Genjutsu? No, not possible. Neither mine nor Sasuke's chakra are disrupted. Then how?' She then noticed that one of Danzo's sharingan eyes had closed. Noticing that caused her eyes to narrow. 'Are those sharingan eyes the cause….?'

"You're a disappointment to Itachi's memory," stated Danzo as he looked at Sasuke who narrowed his eyes in anger. "Everything that he sacrificed himself for….you're destroying all of it at the moment. Although you being here obviously means that you know the truth about the Uchiha Massacre, meaning that Itachi was a traitor to Kono-"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Sasuke as his Susanoo began to change again, taking on it's final form accompanied by what appeared to be a ball of Amaterasu flames.

'What is this?' thought Danzo as he took a step back and readied himself.

'Sasuke's chakra just became colder again…' thought an even more frightened Karin, having forgotten about trying to solve the mystery of how Danzo was still alive for the moment.

"Itachi…." said Sasuke in a low tone, remembering how Itachi had asked him to fight him, "you don't know him at all."

Danzo simply looked at Sasuke, not responding.

The ball of Amaterasu flames formed into sword in an instant. Sasuke's Susanoo grabbed the blade and took a swipe towards Danzo who jumped upwards, out of the way of the blade. But he wasn't prepared to defend himself as Sasuke appeared in front of him, his sword in hand as he cut Danzo's head off of his body.

Sasuke landed and looked back to see Danzo's body disappearing. 'Again…'

Danzo then appeared a distance away again. 'He's skilled with the Susanoo it seems. To be able to hold it even though he's not within it…'

Sasuke then removed both of his wrists warmers, revealing armbands with seals underneath. Instantly, a fuma shuriken appeared in his hands which he threw straight at Danzo.

'Childish,' thought Danzo as he crouched down, ready to jump upward to dodge the coming shuriken. He did, but once again was surprised as another one appeared in front of him and hit him dead on, killing him yet again.

Sasuke formed Chidori and disappeared as Danzo threw wind chakra embedded shuriken towards his position from his new location.

Danzo managed to tilt his head to the side to successfully dodging Sasuke's Chidori as Sasuke appeared behind him. Danzo the proceeded to grad Sasuke's elbow to throw him but instead received a hit in the gut courtesy of Sasuke's knee.

Danzo hunched forward in pain. Using this opening, Sasuke managed to break free from Danzo's hold and used Chidori to stab him, killing Danzo once again.

'Three times already….' thought a troubled Danzo as he appeared on the other side, looking at the remaining sharingans in his right arm. 'It's better if I don't engage him in taijutsu.'

Sasuke could only scowl as he looked at Danzo. 'Again with that. But those eyes…some of them have closed already. Whatever jutsu he's using…they're definitely tied together somehow.' This reminded him of a jutsu that he had read in the archives of the Uchiha library, but he still wasn't convinced just yet.

'There must be a time limit for when those eyes close,' thought Karin who had gotten over her shock and was watching the fight intently. 'I just need to figure that out….' It was obvious to her that those sharingan eyes were the key here.

Danzo bit one of his fingers to draw blood out, an act which caused Sasuke to rush at him.

But Danzo was faster. He brought his hand down and wall of smoke covered the area. And out of the smoke came out a large elephant looking animal.

Sasuke stopped his rush and shielded his eyes as the summoned animal inhaled which caused a powerful suction to occur, sucking in tents, nearby trees, and the sort.

'No choice then,' thought Sasuke as he activated his Susanoo once again for protection as he prepared to use a fire jutsu to counter.

He wasn't able to notice Danzo behind him though as he inhaled just like his summoned animal.

**"Wind Style: Shinkuha!"**

'What!' thought Sasuke as his Susanoo was hit in the back by a blade of wind, cracking the outer amor and the interior skin as well.

'That's it!' thought Danzo as he intended to hit that spot with an even stronger jutsu. 'That's the Susanoo's weak point.'

But Sasuke acted first. The blade made out of Amaterasu flames did another swipe, sending out individuals flames of Amaterasu in the process towards Danzo at incredible speeds.

Danzo could only scowl again as the flames hit him, not being fast enough to dodge them. So he was killed…again.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

The summoned beast, or Baku, could only howl in pain as he sucked in the giant fireball, courtesy of Sasuke, before it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Staring at Danzo's body before it disappeared, Karin counted up to sixty seconds when the body disappeared and another eye closed as well.

'The time limit is sixty seconds!' realized Karin before looking at Sasuke. "Sasuke! The time limit of this jutsu is sixty seconds! And it looks like he needs those sharingan eyes to keep it active before they close! Meaning that when they all close, he won't be able to use it anymore!"

'That woman figured out Izanagi,' thought Danzo in frustration as he appeared next to where he had previously 'died.'

"You," began Sasuke looking at Danzo while still protected by his Susanoo, finally confirming what jutsu Danzo was using, "you're using Izanagi, aren't you?"

Danzo's eye widened at this. "You know about Izanagi?"

"Just as I thought," said Sasuke as he took a step forward.

'I only have four eyes left,' thought Danzo as he looked at his right arm. 'The sixty second time limit is the major flaw with this jutsu besides not being able to re-use the eye that the caster uses. But I still have Shisui's eye. I was planning on using it at the Kage Summit, but it looks like I don't have a choice here. Not unless I want to die of course…' And the answer to that was a big 'NO.'

"That's not going to work Danzo."

Both Danzo and Sasuke looked to where the main camp was located in to see both Mikoto and a grinning Suigetsu who was drinking water from his bottle, bodies of Root anbu members all on the ground, obviously dead.

'My Root...' thought Danzo, not believing how things were going at the moment. Everything was falling apart, the complete opposite of how he expected for this day to go.

"I know that you're thinking of using Shisui's eye," said Mikoto with her right hand on her hips, giving her the expression as is she was correcting one of her sons in a stupid mistake. "But my sharingan will nullify Shisui's genjutsu, so don't even bother."

"That's not possible," replied Danzo, thinking that she was bluffing. "You don't even have the mangekyo. You can't possibly-"

"You're forgetting that the sharingan is like a ninja tool," interrupted Mikoto while shaking her head. "I've trained myself really hard in genjutsu because of the fact that you possess Shisui's eye and his genjutsu in the process. My goal was to kill you, I didn't want to be caught in it in the process and be used for one of your little schemes."

Before Danzo could respond to that, he was pierced by a purple arrow with the tip covered by the Amaterasu flames.

"You should also pay attention to whom you're fighting with," stated Mikoto with a smirk on her face.

Sasuke glanced at Danzo's right arm as he reappeared once again, noticing that only none of his sharingan eyes were opened anymore, meaning that he would not be able to use Izanagi again at all. Izanagi had been exhausted.

'It's time to end this,' thought Sasuke as his eternal spun when he stared straight at Danzo.

Danzo glanced at his right arm to notice that he still had one sharingan eye opened. 'I have to put an end this in these last sixty seconds. I'll have to save Shisui's eye to defeat Mikoto. It's my only choice,' thought Danzo as he looked at Sasuke who still had his Susanoo active. That was going to be the problem. But he had already found it's weak spot. All he needed to do was to concentrate his attacks there.

Danzo then rushed at Sasuke again, seeing no other alternative at the moment. He only had less than sixty seconds. No time to think anymore.

Sasuke could only smirk as he rushed at Danzo as well, deactivating his Susanoo as he brought out his sword, both lighting and the flames of Amaterasu surrounding it.

Well that was convenient for Danzo. Without the Susanoo, his major obstacle to defeat Sasuke was gone.

'His cockiness will be his downfall!' thought Danzo as he brought a kunai and coated it with wind chakra.

"Sasuke, don't!" screamed Karin.

Mikoto merely watched with an impassive look on her face, and Suigetsu...well he continued to drink his water..

Both disappeared for a moment and then reappeared directly in front of each other, each piercing each other at the same time.

Danzo could only smirk for the first even though blood was coming out of his mouth. "That was stupid of you," stated Danzo. "Rushing at me when you had the advantage. Now this is ove-"

Danzo stopped talking when he realized that he was still injured and in the same position. 'What's going? Why isn't Izanagi activating?' he wondered to himself.

"Itachi…" said Sasuke in a low tone, "this makes one."

Danzo's visible eye widened when the Sasuke in front of him disappeared, only for another uninjured Sasuke to be seen behind him, his sword piercing his chest and with a crazed smile on his face, his eternal making him look even more intense and insane.

"How….?" asked Danzo as Sasuke retracted his sword and him falling to the ground, kneeling.

"Genjutsu," answered Sasuke. "You thought that you had one still opened when in fact all were close. You also thought that it was the real me that rushed at you." Sasuke shook his head here. "That would have been stupid of me. Like you said, I had the advantage," he finished with a smirk.

'I was too worried that I didn't even detect the genjutsu,' realized Karin as she breathed in relief.

"I might not be as efficient as Itachi with genjutsu," continued Sasuke as he took a step forward, "but it's more than enough for an impostor like you."

"You're through Danzo," said Mikoto as she appeared next to Sasuke. "I'll be taking what you stole now."

"I'm not through yet!" said Danzo as he stood up, markings appearing on his chest as he ripped his shirt opened.

'The Ura Shisho!' realized Mikoto as she took a step back. "Sasuke, move!"

While not knowing what Danzo was up to, Sasuke did as his mother instructed.

'It seems that this is it for me,' thought Danzo as a black sphere began to surround him. 'I guess I couldn't become Hokage in the end after all…'

The sphere exploded.

* * *

><p><strong>"Madara! That son of a bitch!"<strong>

Naruto blocked out Kurama's rambling, instead focusing on the current situation at hand.

Kabuto smirked as the revived shinobi opened their eyes. "This is it."

Madara opened his eyes and looked around, seeing Hashirama with his brother and Izuna as well. 'So it has happened then…' he thought.

"What is this?" said Minato as he looked around as well. "I thought that I was dead…."

"It's Orochimaru," stated Sarutobi with a sigh.

"Unfortunately no," said Kabuto from behind them. "But it doesn't matter now."

"Who are you?" asked Minato as he glanced at him.

"Kabuto?" asked Sarutobi with wide eyes as he could make out the distinct features of the old appearance of Kabuto. "How could you be-"

"Like I said, it doesn't matter," interrupted Kabuto.

"Brother," said Izuna as he saw him, "what's going on here?"

"Madara," stated Hashirama with a surprise look.

Madara merely grunted.

Tobirama could only scowl as he looked at the two Uchihas.

"I suppose welcome back to the living world is in order," said Naruto as he took a step forward and looked at each one of them. When he reached Minato though, his eyes narrowed. "I didn't think that I would be seeing you here again, Yondaime."

Minato for his part could only look at the individual in front of him with a confused look. "I don't even know-" but he stopped short when he saw the whisker marks. "Naruto?" he said with wide eyes.

"Naruto?" repeated Sarutobi. "But that's impossible. He doesn't resemble Naruto at all!"

"Glad to see you too, old man," said Naruto with a feral grin.

"Just what's going on here!?" said Minato.

"Talking time is over," said Kabuto as he formed another handseal.

"This is my jutsu," retorted Tobirama. "Do you real think that-"

"Yes, I think I can," interrupted Kabuto.

Before Tobirama could retort, he noticed that he couldn't move his body on his own free will. 'This guy….'

Hashirama raised an eyebrow. "Oh? This is surprising…" He couldn't move either.

"Brother, mind explaining?" asked Izuna as he looked at Madara.

Madara for his part was merely staring at Naruto. "So it seems that everything is going according to plan then," he stated with a slight smirk.

Naruto shrugged at him. "I don't know since apparently Obito is the only that you told everything." 'Speaking of which, where is he?' wondered Naruto momentarily before shaking the thought away. He could not get distracted at the moment.

Madara smirked when he heard that. 'It seems that I made the right choice in choosing you, Obito…'

"Madara!" said Tobirama in irritation. "Tell us what the hell is going on here!"

Madara glanced at him. "You're in no position to demand anything considering the fact that he's pulling the string on us," said Madara while glancing at Kabuto.

"We can't handle them," said Fuka beside Naruto. "They're too strong."

"Then stay back," replied Naruto as he took another step forward. "Because I'm not backing down."

"We'll help you," said Yagura as he took a step forward as well as Utakata.

"If you want," simply responded Naruto as he focused on the six in front of him.

"Just what is going on here?" asked Sarutobi, not understanding anything as his body moved into a battle stance along with the rest.

Hashirama glanced at Madara's pleased look. "Something tells me that this is all you're doing," he stated.

Madara merely grunted again. "You could say that…."

Tobirama scowled again.

"I suppose there's no choice then," said Izuna as his sharingan activated. "And you're not going to tell me anything, are you?" he asked while glancing at Madara one more time.

Madara only grunted again, not responding.

Minato could only look at his son in sadness. "It seems that this can't be helped…"

Naruto smirked as he activated his rinnegan and red chakra began to surround him, as well as both as Yagura and Utakata. Fuka merely jumped back, not wanting to get involved. Not that she would be of much help in this fight.

"Don't feel bad," said Naruto with anticipation on his voice, "because I can't be more than glad than of what is going to happen!"

Madara activated his eternal mangekyo sharingan as a ghostly blue energy began to surround him. "I suppose it's time to see if _they _have chosen well, Uzumaki Naruto."

Not knowing what he meant by that, Naruto merely looked at Madara straight in the eyes.

Rinnegan met Sharingan.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**A fast update I know, but I couldn't help myself but to post this up this since well…I'm sure that you could guess why.**

**Hope you enjoyed the battle between Sasuke and Danzo as well as the power upgrade that Fu received. I don't know if it's original or not, but meh…there it is.**

**And yes, I will explain how Kabuto managed to summon the Hokages as well as have both Madara and Hashirama under control when in the manga that wasn't possible. Just be patient.**

**Well I suppose that's it for me for now. I don't know when I'll update again, but don't be surprised if I do update as fast as I did with this chapter.**

**I guess that does it for me this time. And once again, if I missed anything, tell me. Hope you enjoyed it, and please tell me what you thought. Meaning…REVIEW!**

**Till next time.**


	41. The Kage Summit pt III

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 40:<br>The Kage Summit pt. III**

Currently on top of the cliff where Naruto and the rest had been just over less than an hour ago overlooking the building where the summit as well as the fighting was taking place, Black Zetsu chuckled to itself, umm…himself…whatever he/it was.

The point of his chuckle was not one of amusement, although that was a small part of it. No, the point of his chuckle was that of purpose of what had just happened.

**'It seems as if it all worked out just like you hoped it would, Madara..'**

Black Zetsu had sensed the arrival of Madara's chakra a few minutes ago with the only explanation being that that Kabuto brat had indeed summoned him. There was the small possibility of Naruto being responsible for that, but Black Zetsu really doubted that. For reasons unknown to Black Zetsu, Naruto had not yet attempted to summon Madara. Why was that? Once again, Black Zetsu did not know.

Of course the original plan had been for the Nagato brat to have had summoned Madara with the Gedo: Rinne Tensei, but Black Zetsu really doubted that Tobi would have gone through with it since Madara himself had shown disapproval of him, favoring Obito more. That had been one of the reasons for Tobi going down the path that he had. After all, Madara was like Tobi's creator, Tobi's own father in a sense. And he had had no faith for Tobi. Very common psychological breakdown in the world unfortunately.

That had been a major reason for Madara to have had given up his rinnegan like he had. Finding a true Uzumaki was hard these days. They, beside the Senju and the Uchiha, were the only ones that could handle the rinnegan. The other reason for Madara to have had given his rinnegan to Nagato was for Nagato to become sort of like a 'test' for Naruto. And Naruto had passed with flying colors.

Of course that was nothing for the true challenge that Naruto needed to overcome. And this right now was the beginning.

Black Zetsu smirked, an act highly unusual for him, but he couldn't help himself. He was going to enjoy watching this.

**'Now let's see if you've already surpassed Madara, Naruto…'**

* * *

><p>Gaara stood with his arms crossed and with an impassive look on his face, all the while looking directly at both Mei and A. The cork on his gourd made out of entirely of sand was forced open as sand began to come out from inside the gourd.<p>

Mei smirked to herself as she gazed at the young Kazekage, bringing one of her hands to her lips and placing a finger on her lips. "It seems that you want to interfere after all."

"You are of no concern to me," replied Gaara in an almost monotone voice. "But if you insist on getting in my way to my true target, then I have no choice but to remove you then."

Mei raised an eyebrow. "Pretty confident, aren't you? But let me guess, you're true target is Naruto, isn' it?" she asked, although it came out more of as a statement rather than a question.

"Yes," simply answered Gaara as his sand began to surround him. On his right, Temari prepared her fan while on his left Kankuro brought out some sort of puppet whose face was covered by a hood although one could see a few strands of pure red hair sticking out.

Mei hmph'ed at the redhead's answer. "That's pointless, and I'm sure that you know it as well. Naruto cannot be talked out of his goal. Not anymore. The only way is to stop him by force."

"If that's what it takes, then I'll do it," retorted Gaara with his usual calm face.

Mei shook her head. "That's also impossible. I may not know of everything that he's capable of, but from what I have heard, it's enough. You don't stand a chance against him. But if you were to join him, the you could-"

"I will not," interrupted Gaara with his own shake of his head. "Naruto saved me from my own darkness. He seems to have forgotten everything that he once believed in though. But I'll help him to see the light once again. I'll be the one to save him this time."

Mei smiled slightly at that. "As honorable as that is, that's also simply impossible. You may not see it yet, but I can tell that his darkness is just simply too big for it to be stop. You're only choice is to kill him, and even then I don't think that you can accomplish that either."

"I won't know until I try, will I?" responded Gaara as then he shot a wave of sand towards both Mei and A, along with their respective guards.

A was in front of the group in an instant, his lighting armor activated as he blocked the sand with just his hands.

"Temari," said Gaara as he glanced at his older sister.

Temari nodded as she brought her fan forward.

**"Wind Style: Okakeami!"**

A multitude of extremely sharp blades of wind headed towards A as Gaara pulled his sand back. A for his part didn't even flinch as the attack hit him, not having any affect thanks to his lighting armor.

"What!?" said Temari with a surprise look. 'He didn't even flinch….'

Gaara brought a wall of sand in front of them the next moment as A was in front of them, his fast back as he brought it forward, clashing with sand in a clash of strength.

'Fool,' thought Darui with a shake of his head. 'No one is stronger than Raikage-sama in terms of strength except for the Sennin Tsunade.'

Just like Darui predicted, A's fist was currently pushing forward to the sand.

Kankuro brought his puppet upward, intent on distracting the Raikage for at least a moment.

"Oh no you don't," said Darui as he rushed forward, intent on supporting his 'boss.' Darui jumped upward to intercept Kankuro's puppet with his sword, only for it to be blocked by a blade coming out of one of the puppet's hand.

'This is why I hate puppeteers,' thought Darui with an internal sigh as he continue trying to push the puppet back. 'Too many damn surprises up their sleeves. Too dull…'

"It seems that they might need assistance," said Mei as she took a step forward and looked towards her right. "Chojuro."

The young blue haired glasses wearing swordsmen nodded shyly as he rushed in to support the Raikage who was still pushing forward through the wall of sand.

He also jumped upward, bringing his sword forward.

**"Hiramekarei Kaiho!"**

**"Wind Style: Daitoppa!"**

Chojuro's blade connected with Temari's counterattack, but was pushed back in surprise as Temari was in front of him in an instant, hitting him dead on with her fan in his stomach.

Gaara raised his hands slightly, intent on pushing back the Raikage.

**"Suna Shigure."**

A looked up to see a cloud of sand above him, stopping him from his attack for a moment, only for him to look down to his feet the next second to see sand holding them.

"You fell for it," stated Gaara as he brought the cloud of sand downward, only for the Raikage to disappear from the spot the next second.

Gaara wasn't able to ponder as to where A went as he was forced to jump out of the way of a wave of lava that landed where he had just previously been.

"Gaara!" said Kankuro as he glanced behind him for the moment.

"Oi, don't be forgetting me," said Darui as lighting began to surround his blade.

Seeing this, Kankuro pulled his puppet back, something which Darui took advantage of. Using his opponent's retreat to his momentum, Darui went in straight for Kankuro himself. The puppet wouldn't mean shit without the puppeteer.

Kankuro tilted his head to his right, dodging the sword, or so he thought.

As he jumped back to make some distance between him and his opponent, he noticed a cut on his right cheek.

'What?' thought Kankuro in surprise. 'I thought I dodged it!'

"It's really hard to dodge lighting you know," said Darui as he appeared behind Kankuro in midair.

'Shit!' exclaimed Kankuro in his mind as he looked back to see Darui bringing his sword forward.

Having no time to bring his puppet to his side for defense, Kankuro was stabbed right through his right side of his stomach, at least having dodge a major injury.

Seeing this, a small smirk appeared on Darui's face. 'Not bad puppeteer….'

He was suddenly on the defense, however as a gust of wind covered the area, blinding his eyes for a moment as he landed a few feet away to where Kankuro fell.

A fatal flaw as Temari appeared behind him, fan raised upward as she prepared to smash him just like she had done with Chojuro.

"Darui!" said C as he ran up to them, hands together.

**"Raigen Raikochu!"**

It was Temari's turn to shield her eyes as a pillar of light emanating from C blinded her.

Using the opportunity given to him by his partner, Darui was able to strongly sidekick Temari on her left side before she could figure it out that it was a genjutsu, sending her flying backwards right into a wall.

"Thanks man," said Darui while holding his sword on his left shoulder as C stood beside him. "That Suna kunoichi is way too dull for my taste."

C merely sighed at his partner for using the same word in every sentence, even if it didn't apply. "Don't mention it."

'Temari,' thought Kankuro, kneeling and holding his right stomach side where Darui had pierced him. 'It's numb thanks to that lighting chakra of his…'

"Oh?" said Darui as he noticed the still conscious Kankuro. "It seems that you're not out just yet, eh puppeteer?"

"It's best if we will them now," stated C while glancing the wall where Temari was kicked through by Darui before turing towards Kankuro. "Their Kazekage seems to be siding with Konoha and not us."

Darui merely shrugged. "I don't really care…."

C sighed. "Of course you don't."

Kankuro scowled as he shakily stood up. "I'm not done just yet you bastards."

Gaara could only glance behind him to see the situation that his siblings were in.

"It's just like Mito-san said," said Mei with Ao behind her. Chojuro was still on the ground, not being able to get up just yet from the hit that Temari had given him. "You don't have a chance of winning."

Gaara's sand started to surround him once more as he turned to look at Mei. "And like I said, I won't know until I try. I still have hope."

Mei could only sigh. "Talking to you is pointless…."

**"Erubo!"**

Gaara could only widen his eyes as A appeared on his right, still in his lighting armor and with his elbow thrusted forward towards Gaara.

"Ugh." Gaara flinched in pain as A's attack managed to penetrate his sand defense, albeit not entirely but the attack still hurt like a bitch. He was sent flying back a few feet before using his sand as an anchor, sticking to the ground. He panted and flinched again in pain as he touched the spot where A had managed to hit with his attack, kneeling on the ground.

A stood there, calmly looking at Gaara with an expressionless look on his face.

Mei calmly walked up to stand beside A once more, Ao standing behind the two.

"You can't win against both of us," stated Mei while shaking her head again. "You're bodyguards are close to losing as well. Just give up."

Gaara wordlessly stood up, holding back another flinch of pain.

"I will not give up," he stated as his sand began to move once more.

Mei sighed. "Very well. If that's your final decision."

Gaara merely stared at them before sending his sand towards them once more.

* * *

><p>In another part of the building, two blurs could be seen as they clashed with one another, second after second within an occupied average sized room.<p>

A few moments afterwards, the two blurs stopped on opposite sides of the room, one grinning while the other one stood with a calm look.

"This is good," said Kushina as she took her akatsuki cloak off since it was getting in her way at the moment. "I can see why you're the leader of the samurai, old man."

Mifune didn't respond to the jab at the reference of his age since it was pointless. He was old, plain and simple.

"You're not a joke either, Uzumaki Kushina," replied Mifune calmly, just like the look that he currently had on his face.

Kushina raised an eyebrow at him. "You know me?" she asked him.

"Of you," corrected Mifune as he got into a stance to attack Kushina or defend an attack from her. "You were highly famous in your kenjutsu in the Third Shinobi War, nicknamed to be the female version of Namikaze Minato except with a sword with your skill and speed with it."

Now that caused for a surprise look to appear on the redhead's face. She hadn't known that! But the surprise look didn't last, however as it was soon replaced by a grin that threatened to split her face in half.

'Oh yeah, I'm awesome!' she thought to herself.

"I am surprise though," continued Mifune, "that you would side with this Uzumaki Naruto in doing what he's doing. It seems to me that he's nothing but a criminal except that he's trying to achieve something entirely ridiculous."

That statement from the gray haired samurai caused Kushina's excitement to die off, only for it to be replaced by anger.

Kushina lowered her head as her hair shadowed her eyes. "I wouldn't talk about something that you obviously have no clue about, Mifune," she stated with a threatening undertone.

Mifune took a step back in surprise as he could sense the anger coming from the female Uzumaki. One moment ago she was all hyper and booming with excitement, the next she's all dark and threatening. What the hell?

"Is this about the attack that wiped out the Uzumaki Clan?" asked Mifune. Of course he knew about it. But that had been awhile back. Also not a reason for her to have any anger towards Konoha. If anything, she should be trying to go after Kumo, or Iwa, or Kiri, or all three. Right?

Kushina chuckled, her head still lowered. "Like I told you, you absolutely have no clue as to what is going. So, just don't say anything that you will regret later."

Mifune didn't respond to that, not that he had to as he was forced to block a strike from Kushina's sword as the redhead was in from of him in an instant, looking at him with a fair amount of hatred in her eyes.

He didn't have time to dwell on it either as Kushina aimed for a low strike with her knee, only for it to be met head on with Mifune's own. Mifune flinched slightly as he felt his knee sting from the blow. The woman had raw power all right!

Kushina then jumped back, Mifune going after her the next. Seeing this, the redhead leaned back as Mifune came at her with his sword thrusted forward. Using his momentum against him, Kushina brought one of her legs up to kick the sword off Mifune's hands, succeeding. Mifune's sword was kicked off his hand and up to the ceiling, where it stayed, implanted.

Mifune brought his now no sword holding hands to his side to block a strike from Kushina's other foot, said redhead using her right arm to support her body.

With her other hand that that was holding the sword, she brought it forward intent on cutting down Mifune, having plenty of momentum to back her up.

Mifune had a pained look on his face as Kushina's sword managed to cut through both of his wrists as he still had both of his hands upward to offer some protection.

Using this to her advantage, Kushina brought her other foot that had kicked Mifune's sword off his hands to hit the said swordsman on the same spot where her other foot had tried before.

Mifune was hit back a good distance away, his pained look increasing from the force of Kushina's foot that had hit him.

Kushina calmly stood up into a standing position, a calm look on her face, the complete opposite of what it had been a couple of minutes ago.

"This is just the beginning old man," said Kushina as another grin appeared on her face, although this one was more dark than her previous one. "You will be begging for me to kill you afterwards."

"Killing me will only cause for the samurais to join Konoha," replied Mifune as he too got into a standing position as well.

Kushina shrugged. "Does it look I care? No matter who joins, Konoha already has its fate sealed."

"I still don't see why your hatred is only directed towards Konoha," said Mifune trying to not move his wounded wrists too much for the moment.

"That's also none of your concern," retorted Kushina. "But if you must know, we haven't forgotten about the other villages. Konoha is just our primary target for many reasons."

'So they're also planning on attacking the rest of the shinobi villages,' thought a troubled Mifune. 'These are more than just criminals….'

"Now," said Kushina as she twirled her sword before pointing it towards the injured Mifune, "shall we continue, leader of the samurai?"

Mifune didn't respond. Instead he appeared upside down on the ceiling, grabbing his sword and sticking it out of the ceiling, all the while trying to ignore the pain that he was feeling coming from moving his injured wrists.

Not saying anything more, Kushina rushed towards the awaiting Mifune.

* * *

><p>Tsunade could only scowl as she looked at her grandmother's back as she continued to chase her through the many corridors of the building.<p>

"When are you going to stop running!?" screamed Tsunade at her.

Mito for her part merely glanced behind her to see the furious face of her granddaughter, causing her to shake her head.

'Still can't control that anger of yours, can you?' Mito thought to herself before turning her head forward.

Tsunade scowled again before narrowing her eyes. 'I'm done playing your game, grandmother.'

With that thought in mind, Tsunade focused her chakra to her feet to give her an extra push to propel her forward. And it did just that.

Sensing danger, Mito looked back to see an incoming and smirking Tsunade towards her.

Mito also smirked before doing a tiger seal that pushed her down towards the ground at the last second before Tsunade could tackle her.

Scowling again, Tsunade stopped herself on one of the walls, causing a spider web to appear on it thanks to all that chakra that she had pushed to her feet.

"Impatient, aren't you?" said Mito with a chuckle as she released the tiger seal that she had been holding.

Looking down at her, Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "What did you do to make yourself be pushed down?"

Mito chuckled. "I'm sure that you must be familiar with seal-based weights, correct?"

Understanding dawned upon the busty blonde Hokage. "I see…so that seal was to activate them which pushed you down to the ground because of the force that they inflicted upon you."

Mito nodded. "Exactly. But enough of that. If you're in that much of a hurry for me to teach you a lesson like I did last time, then let's not waste anymore time, why don't we?"

Tsunade merely jumped down from the wall to land in front of her amused grandmother in the hallway. "You…"

"Yes?" said Mito with an amused raised eyebrow. Toying with her granddaughter brought much amusement to her it would seem.

Tsunade's hands turned into fists. "Just why won't you understand that what you're doing is completely insane!?"

Mito sighed in annoyance at that. "I thought that we had already established this: talking is not going to work on any of us. Not to mention that we will not stop what we're doing. It's completely late for that."

"You didn't answer my question!" exclaimed Tsunade, loosing her composure.

Mito raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought I did…but oh well. But you seem to misunderstand as well, thinking as if I'm the leader behind all of this and that changing my mind will stop everything."

Now that stopped Tsunade on her tracks. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

Mito shook her head. "Really Tsunade, I expected for you to be more sharper than this. But I'll spell this out for you: the leader behind all of this as well as the driving force is Naruto, and not me, or anyone else."

"What!" exclaimed Tsunade in shock. "Do you seriously expect for me to believe that!? That the same brat that-"

"No," interrupted Mito with another sigh. "That's also something that you yet don't seem to comprehend. It's just like Naruto told you-he's not the same person that you once knew him as to be. He's not the ignorant little child that would just simply take things with a cheerful smile. He's changed. So, this Naruto is the one that is behind all of this, not the one that you knew of three years ago. That Naruto is simply dead, plain and simple."

Tsunade could only stare at her grandmother shock, obviously not believing her.

Sensing this, Mito could only sigh once more. "Do you really not believe me? After all that he's done, and everything that he's planning to do? Or are you just lying to herself, hoping that this is nothing more than just a horrible nightmare?"

Tsunade stayed silent, not knowing what to say.

"Well, this is reality," stated Mito. "This is the truth of things. The only question is what you plan on doing about it."

"If you think that I'm going to betray-" began Tsunade in a weak tone, only for Mito to interrupt her.

"They betrayed us!" exclaimed Mito with a harsh tone. "Are you forgetting that you also have Uzumaki blood running through your veins!? Not only that, but the Senju clan is also related to the Uzumaki clan. I'm sure you know it as well. So Konoha basically betrayed all of us, including Hashirama!"

Tsunade could hold her head down, not knowing what to do. But she knew that her grandmother was right. Konoha had basically betrayed its very founders and acted as if it was nothing more than just a small mistake. No, not a mistake at all. As if it were the right thing.

But an interesting thought came through Tsunade's mind, causing her to look at her grandmother straight in the eyes for the first time.

"If you're intentions are really to get revenge for the Uzumaki clan, why would you team up with Kiri, Kumo, and even tried to with Iwa as well? They're the ones that actually took part in the attack!"

"Like I told you, Naruto's the core in all of this," responded Mito calmly. "He's the one that decided on that. And it's for a reason as well. But if you think that he's forgetting about that particular detail, then you're absolutely mistaken my granddaughter. Konoha is just his prime target because of his already existing hate that he has towards the place. And I'm sure you know why."

Of course Tsunade knew why. Naruto was a jinchuriki. That statement said it all.

"So you're saying that he's basically going to go after the other villages afterwards?" asked Tsunade with shock and wide eyes.

"Possibly," replied Mito. "But that's of no importance right now. As long as Konoha still stands that is."

Tsunade could only lower her head, not knowing what to say. But that was before she remembered something.

_"Not all people are guilty, Hime."_

'Jiraiya,' thought Tsunade with sadness before looking at her grandmother once more.

"What you're doing is wrong," she stated as she stood straight and prepared herself into a combat stance. "You're trying to kill innocent people, and I can't be part of that."

Mito shook her head. "Don't be trying to make Konoha look like the victim here!" she stated while looking at her granddaughter with a cold gaze. "Are you forgetting about the innocent people that were also killed in Uzu that night!? All the children that had their entire life ahead of them!? Are you also forgetting about how they tried to do the same to Naruto as well, when they should have been grateful for what he had done!? Are you forgetting about all of that!?"

Tsunade actually flinched before responding, "No I'm not. But if you think that you're any better by-"

"Shut up," interrupted Mito with a cold tone. "We already told you, we know that we're not any better by doing what we're doing. But it doesn't matter to us. We're simply getting even. It's human nature after all, isn't it my granddaughter?"

Tsunade could only grunt in pain as she was hit straight in the gut by none other Mito the next second.

'Fast…!' thought Tsunade with wide eyes.

"Now that talking is over, why don't we go into the fighting, my precious granddaughter?" said Mito with a cold gaze.

Tsunade could only look at her grandmother in unrestrained sadness.

* * *

><p><strong>"Oi, are you serious about fighting all of them at the same time?"<strong>

'Of course I am. This is exactly what I've been waiting for.'

Kurama merely chuckled. **"Well then, don't think about leaving me out of this. I also want a part in tearing Madara to shreds."**

'Heh…will do.'

Cutting the conversation with his bijuu for the moment, Naruto focused on his opponents that were in front of him.

Wordlessly, both Madara and Izuna stepped forward, both inhaling at the same time.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

Naruto smirked as the combined fireball from the two legendary Uchiha brothers headed towards him and his two partners.

Both Yagura and Utakata took a step back seeing the giant fireball heading towards them.

"This is nothing," stated Naruto as he took a step forward and raised one arm forward, absorbing the fireball thanks to his rinnegan.

He jumped back however as he was forced to dodge the emergence of wood from below the ground.

"Oh, nice reflexes," commented Hashirama with a small smile with one of his hands on the ground.

It was Tobirama that rushed at Naruto afterwards, only for him to duck downward to dodge a kick from Yagura.

"I've always wanted the chance to fight you Nidaime," stated Yagura as he stood in front of Tobirama. "The only man able to generate water from the air itself, Senju Tobirama. It's an honor."

Tobirama merely hmph'ed before rushing towards the Sanbi jinchuriki, engaging him in taijutsu.

Naruto landed as he grabbed both incoming kicks from both Madara and Izuna, but then disappeared in a dark flash as Minato appeared behind him in a yellow flash, the Hiraishin kunai in his hand.

Appearing above on the stands, Naruto raised an eyebrow as he looked at Kabuto who was standing behind Sarutobi. "So it seems that you've equipped them with weapons as well, Kabuto."

Kabuto smirked. "But of course. I've come prepared."

Naruto couldn't retort as an entire tree appeared behind him, Hashirama standing on top of said tree, hands together.

**"Gosoju!"**

Naruto could only curse as two tendrils emerged from the ground and shot towards him.

**"Fire Style: Goka Mekkyaku!"**

Naruto stared at both of his sides, seeing the attacks coming as well as Minato appearing behind him in another yellow flash, holding him in a deadlock.

"I'm so sorry Naruto," said Minato, "but this is it."

"For you maybe," retorted Naruto. "Holding on to me was a mistake."

Naruto then closed his eyes momentarily as the attacks hit both him and Minato.

Yagura's eyes widen before he grunted in pain as Tobirama delivered a powerful kick to his stomach as he was pushed back a good distance as a result.

"You shouldn't drop your guard when you're fighting me," stated Tobirama, "or else you will die."

Utakata was currently crouching, his bubble blower currently brought to his lips.

'Oi, did he-'

**"No,"** interrupted the Rokubi. **"Just watch."**

When the smoke cleared, Madara raised an eyebrow in satisfactory surprise.

'So Mikoto did as I instructed then,' he thought with a small smirk.

Hashirama could only sigh. "So it's not going to be easy then…." he muttered.

"Oi, brother," said Izuna beside Madara, "just how is this-"

"Just watch Izuna," interrupted Madara.

'Is this Naruto-kun?' thought Sarutobi from in front a smirking Kabuto.

As the smoke cleared, an unharmed Naruto could be seen as well a totally injured Minato whose arms had been ripped to shreds as well as one leg, causing him to let go of Naruto.

But that wasn't all. Surrounding Naruto was unmistakably his Susanoo, stage one. The color was a mixture of both black with red lines running through it, as well as both of its eyes being red. The face resembled that of a fox, but it looked even more demonic than that. It had sharpened fangs coming out of its mouth and had a black energy sword on its right hand.

Naruto's eternal mangekyo focused on Madara's own eternal. Naruto's eternal was still made up of the red four bladed shuriken with the back being black. But something else was added. Within it the four bladed shuriken, a black pyramid like shape figure was present occupying its three sides within three of four of the shuriken blade.

"So this is your eternal mangekyo," stated Madara in a whisper, but Izuna who was next to him heard it.

'The eternal mangekyo?' thought Izuna, turing his attention towards Naruto. 'But how is this possible….?'

Kabuto's snake like tongue slithered out of his mouth. 'Experimenting on his body will be fun alright….'

Madara smirked as the ghostly blue energy began to surround him once more and transformed into his own Susanoo. "Shall we see who's better?"

Naruto smirked as well as he stood facing Madara. "I thought that you would never ask."

"Oi, don't be forgetting about us," said Hashirama as his hands began to form handseals at a rapid pace, moving on their own before he found himself trapped within a bubble. "Oh?" Hashirama raised an eyebrow before noticing Utakata who was a distance away. "So it's you…."

'That's not going to hold him,' thought Madara before he focused on Naruto whose Susanoo's blade clashed with his own Susanoo's blade.

Naruto frowned as Madara's Susanoo formed another blade on its other hand.

'What to do?' he wondered to himself.

**"Oi, I'm still here, remember?"**

Naruto smiled as Kurama's chakra began to run through his chakra coils.

'Sorry, partner.'

As Madara's other Susanoo blade made to strike Naruto, a giant fox like hand emerged from within the Susanoo, holding onto the blade.

"Oh?" said Madara with a raised eyebrow and his arms crossed.

Naruto smirked at him. "I'm not going down that easily, Madara."

Madara smirked as well. "No, that would just be too boring if you did."

"I'm still here!" said Izuna as his sharingan began to change into his own mangekyo, his Susanoo beginning to emerge as well. It actually reminded Naruto a lot like what Itachi's use to be, except that it was more of a darker red than Itachi's.

'Now, how will you handle this, Naruto…?' thought Madara Izuna's own Susanoo blade began to descend upon Naruto.

'C'mon!' thought Naruto in anger. 'Give me more power!'

Instead of becoming shock, Madara actually smirked again as Naruto's Susanoo changed into its level two form, the Susanoo gaining more armor and another blade like his.

The now second blade blocked Izuna's Susanoo's attack.

Naruto brought his hands together, forming handseals.

**"Katon: Futon: Enpu no Rappa!"**

Madara actually took a step back as the powerful torrent of both wind and fire clashed with his Susanoo, actually creating a crack on its armor.

'Not bad,' thought Madara before noticing that the attack still kept going. 'What!' He didn't much else to think as the attack broke through his Susanoo, hitting him.

"Madara!" exclaimed Izuna in surprise in having seen his brother's Susanoo being broken like that.

'Now to deal with you,' thought Naruto, turing his attention to Izuna.

Izuna was brought down to his knees as the force of his Susanoo being attacked by both one of Naruto's blade and the extra giant charka fox hand.

'My Susanoo won't hold,' he thought worriedly.

'Oi, Kurama,' thought Naruto.

Sensing what his host wanted, Kurama grinned in anticipation. **"Let's do it!"**

Izuna's eyes widened as Kurama in his bijuu form emerged from with Naruto's Susanoo, already preparing his strongest attack.

**"Bijudama!"**

Izuna's Susanoo was ripped to shreds, much like Madara's, and was blown back, his body tearing into pieces. Mainly his arms flying one way, and his legs another.

Both Sarutobi and Kabuto jumped on top of the now destroyed ceiling of the building, snow beginning to hit down upon them all.

'This is not how it was suppose to go,' thought Kabuto while sweating a bit despite the cold weather.

Naruto calmly walked up to the down Izuna whose body was regenerating already.

"Sorry," said Naruto, rinnegan activated, "but this is the end for you, Uchiha Izuna."

Izuna actually smiled despite his downed form. "It's no big deal to me. I'm already dead after all. It's too bad that I wasn't able to see what will happen though. Good luck to you, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto merely took hold of Izuna's head, before ripping his soul out, and releasing it.

'It was fun fighting you Izuna….'

Naruto then turned his attention to a kneeling Madara as his body began to regenerate. Not only that, but a fully regenerated Minato stood beside him.

Minato could only stare at his son in shock. "You…"

Naruto merely smirked. "Yes. I'm this powerful, father. More powerful than you ever were as well as faster. That's how I defeated you last time, wasn't it?"

Madara hmph'ed while listening. "So you're Namikaze Minato," he stated while glancing at him. "I suppose I should take this time to thanking you. After all, your involvement had a major part for having this become possible."

Minato frowned as he looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Sealing Kurama into me," answered Naruto while looking at Madara.

"'Kurama?'" repeated Minato with a raised eyebrow as well as earning a curious look from Madara.

Naruto shook his head. "Don't worry about that. But you should know Madara," he began while looking at him, "that I'm not your pawn. The reason I'm here is because I chose to be."

Madara merely smiled as he stood up, his body completely regenerated. "I never said that you were _my _pawn, did I? I also never said that you didn't choose to go down this path. But what I am saying is that your father having sealed Kyuubi into you made it become extremely possible for this to happen, as well as other things."

"What!" said Minato with wide eyes. "You're saying that I'm the cause for having turn my son into this person!?"

Madara gave him a glance. "A _major_ cause, not the only one. But yes, that is what I'm saying."

A thud interrupted their conversation as they looked to the side to see a heavenly injured Utakata trying to get up with Hashirama standing over him.

Madara smirked. "It's about time that you defeated him, Hashirama."

"He's slippery," replied Hashirama with a smile, "especially with all those bubbles of his."

'So Utakata couldn't handle him,' thought Naruto.

That caused Kurama to snort. **"Were you expecting for him to have had?"**

'No, not really,' answered Naruto honestly.

**"Well there you go then."**

Hashirama calmly walked up towards both Madara and Minato, standing beside them.

'Now, to contiune,' thought Naruto as he got ready.

On the other side of the room, Yagura was panting hard while Tobirama stood a few feet away from him, a calm look on his face.

'So Utakata lost,' thought Yagura, giving Utakata's downed form a glance.

**"It was to be expected. He was up against Senju Hashirama after all,"** replied the Rokubi.

'Yeah, you're right,' thought Yagura before turning his attention to Tobirama.

From the rooftop, Kabuto smirked, gaining confidence again.

Sarutobi could only look down at the fight, troubled. 'Naruto-kun…'

"Let's see what you can do, Uzumaki Naruto," said Hashirama with a smile.

Naruto could only sigh. 'One of the strongest shinobi of the world, smiling all the time like that…'

Kurama chuckled.

* * *

><p>In yet another part of the building where the Kage Summit was taking place, another fight was occurring at the moment.<p>

"Is that all you got samurai!" said Roshi as he continued to dodge the attacks from Okisuke's blade.

Okisuke for his part growled as he continued trying to connect with one of his attacks from his blades.

Roshi, having grown tired of simply dodging, caught Okisuke's blade with one lava coated arm, melting the sword instantly.

'What!' thought Okisuke in surprise before it turned into shock at feeling his stomach burn beyond belief. Looking down, he saw Roshi's other lava coated arm going straight through his stomach much like a sword would do. But not only that. Thanks to the lava surround Roshi's arm, his entire stomach was melted along with surrounding body areas, leaving a big hole in his stomach.

"This is it for you samurai," stated Roshi as he retracted his arm, Okisuke falling to the ground as a result, dead in an instant.

'How's Han doing in his fight?' wondered Roshi as he made his way to a nearby room where Han had gone to fight Kakashi.

* * *

><p>Nearby, things were not looking good for Kakashi as he desperately looked around the steam covered room, his sharingan being close to useless as a result for the moment because of this.<p>

'This is just like Zabuza's mist jutsu,' thought Kakashi with sweat falling down his face. And it wasn't because of fear either. Being a veteran shinobi and having fought in the Third Shinobi War as a child, Kakashi was used to being in situations like this. So much that he didn't feel any fear at all.

No, the sweat was because of the hot temperature thanks to all the steam present in the room.

'I need to find him and quick,' thought Kakashi as he looked around. He needed to see if Tsunade was alright. After that, it was off to find Kabuto and make him explain a lot of things.

But first he needed to deal with the situation at hand.

'Where!?' thought a frustrated Kakashi as he continued to look around.

"Right behind you."

Kakashi's eyes widened as he turned his head back just in time to see Han's incoming fist towards him. When the fist connected though, Kakashi's body turned into a puff of smoke.

'A shadow clone,' thought Han as he looked around himself. 'Very clever. Although I'm dealing with 'Copy Cat' Kakashi, so I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised.'

The sound of lighting behind him caused Han to turn his head back in an instant to see a rapid approaching Kakashi heading towards him, his signature jutsu in hand.

**"Raikiri!"**

**"Han, I've got this!"**

From behind Han, five white tails emerged, shielding Han from the deadly attack.

Kakashi's eyes widened once more. 'Of course, he's a jinchuriki!'

He didn't get too much time to think as he jumped back to avoid the tails from grabbing him.

"You're not going to be as easy to handle as I thought," stated Kakashi with his famous eye smile as the tails disappeared behind Han. The steam was also beginning to disappear, something that Han did not like at all.

Han didn't respond as he prepared to attack Kakashi again, only for a vortex like thing that appeared beside him to stop him.

'What is it now?' wondered Kakashi.

Out of the vortex came out a smirking Obito as he looked at Kakashi.

"Han, don't worry about this. He's my opponent now," stated Obito, the smirk still present.

Han stared at Obito with a questioning gaze. "Why?" he simply asked.

Obito shrugged. "Call it personal. Don't worry though, I'll repay you someday."

Han didn't respond, merely stepping back to allow for Obito to fight, not really caring either way.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, having listened to what this individual had said. "What do you mean by 'personal?' I've never met you before in my life."

Obito chuckled at that while shaking his head. "Really? Because I remember you well, Kakashi," replied Obito while closing his eyes. When he opened them, his mangekyo was active, making Kakashi's face turn that into shock, having recognized the said mangekyo. He possessed it after all.

"You can't possibly be…."

Obito merely smirked.

* * *

><p>Back with Naruto and the rest, Naruto could only stare at his three opponents, each being a legend in his own right.<p>

Madara hmph'ed as his eternal mangekyo activated once more. "It seems that I underestimated you, Uzumaki Naruto. But rest assure, that will not happen again."

Hashirama glanced at him. "You seem to be too eager in this fight Madara," he stated.

"That's because I am," responded Madara while still looking at Naruto.

"Why is that?" asked Hashirama.

"You don't have to worry about that," replied Madara. 'It's a good thing that Izuna is gone now though. I'm sorry for you to have been disturbed like that, brother….'

Minato could only shake his head. "This is all just too confusing!" Seriously, he had no fucking clue as to why all of this was happening!

Naruto smirked as he bit one of his fingers, drawing blood. "Then let me make it clear for you. Right now I'm trying to destroy Konoha. And you, father, are standing in my way again just like you did before."

"What!" said Minato with another widen of his eyes. "What do you mean that that is your goal!?"

Madara merely stood there with an impassive look on his face. Hashirama for his part had turned serious as well, his face devoid of any emotion.

Naruto chuckled as he finished the last of the necessary handseals. "Exactly what I've said. My goal is to eradicate Konoha once and for all. And no one is going to stop me, not even you three."

"May I ask why you are trying to destroy Konoha?" said Hashirama with a calm tone.

"You can," said Naruto as he brought his hand down, "but that doesn't mean that I will answer you though!"

A big cloud of smoke blocked Naruto from their sight for a moment, but it began to clear soon enough.

**"OH YEAH BABY! I'M FINALLY FREE!"**

Seeing the smoke, Yagura could only sweatdrop as he had heard the last statement.

**"Don't tell me that it's **_**him**_**," **said Rokubi with a sigh.

'Who?' asked Yagura.

Tobirama for his part had also turned his attention to the commotion for the moment.

Up on the rooftops, Kabuto narrowed his eyes as he looked at the giant cloud of smoke. 'What is he up to?'

**"You'll see…"** replied the Rokubi with another sigh.

Once the smoke had been completely cleared, the Ichibi, or Shukaku, became visible.

Hashirama actually whistled as he looked up to the giant tailed beast that was currently halfway outside, and halfway inside the building.

Madara merely hmph'ed again as he activated his Susanoo once more.

'Naruto…' thought Minato.

On top of Shukaku's head stood a smirking Naruto.

"Oi, Shukaku," said Naruto, catching the tailed beast's attention, "go wild with those three down there, will you?"

Shukaku grinned as he saw who Naruto was talking about. **"I've found my targets! Time to kill baby!"**

Naruto smirked as he gazed down to meet Madara's eyes again.

This time, Sharingan met Sharingan.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo!<strong>

**I'm back! Sorry to those that were expecting this chapter a bit earlier, but there are things that I need to be taken care of for the moment though, so you must understand.**

**But fret not, because here is the next one! Saying this though, I don't know when I'll update again. Probably in a couple of weeks at the most, but I just wanted to get this one out before that happened.**

**So tell me what you thought. And as you can see, this was an all action chapter. Saying that, I hoped that you enjoyed all the fighting scenes that are currently taking place.**

**I guess that's it for me. Tell me what you thought. So..REVIEW! Please…I'll give you…shit I can't give you anything.**

**Till next time.**


	42. The Kage Summit pt IV

**Disclaimer: I don't freaking own Naruto….I think everyone should know this by now. Why I even bother to even keep writing it over and over again I have no clue. Probably just to waste space. Ok…I went too far there but whatver. Enjoy the chapter.**

**"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 41:<br>The Kage Summit pt. IV**

Madara chuckled out loud as he gazed at the sand bijuu in front of him, amusement clearly visible in his eternal mangekyo activated eyes.

"The Ichibi, is it?" he said while looking up towards Naruto who was standing on top of Shukaku's head, said silver haired individual having his arms crossed.

"You expect for me to be impressed for you having summoned the weakest of the bijuu!?" he questioned with a smirk.

Shukaku growled, having heard Madara's statement, obviously not liking the fact that said Uchiha thought that he was the weakest even if it might be true.

**"I'll kill you!"** stated the sand bijuu, having his right arm pointed down towards Madara. **"You'll be the first for me to kill! And then, I'm going for the rest baby!"**

Madara, his Susanoo activated, merely dropped his smirk as a serious look replaced it right afterwards, his arms also crossed.

"You can try," he replied.

Naruto for his part merely turned to glance at both at Hashirama and Minato, both standing a bit behind Madara.

'Shukaku will even this out, but not for long,' he thought.

Kurama snorted as he watched everything taking place. **"That lunatic is not going to last long against Madara, let along with Hashirama present! I don't know if you've forgotten, but Hashirama can subdue us bijuu. Damn him for being related to the old man…"**

Naruto chuckled shortly, hearing the frustration within the bijuu's tone. But no one could blame him. Being controlled was something that one appreciated, even if said individual was a bijuu.

'I know that,' replied Naruto with a slight shake of his head. 'I did pay a bit of attention in history class in that part you know. I also did some investigation on past events during my training on your request.'

Kurama huffed at that. **"It was for your own good. You were so ignorant…and you still are."**

'Wow thanks….'

**"Don't mention it."**

Sensing danger, Naruto immediately cut off his link to his bijuu to look down to see wood coming out from the ground from underneath Shukaku's feet, clinging around said bijuu's feet.

Naruto turned to look at Hashirama having one of his hands on the ground again, but without one of the smiles that he had had before. Instead a serious look, close to emotionless, was present on the Shodai Hokage's face.

Naruto smirked slightly at that. 'The attitude change must be because of me telling him of my trying to destroy Konoha…'

Shukaku growled again as he looked down towards Hashirama. **"This won't stop me!"**

And true to his statement, the wood surrounding both of his feet was ripped apart as he merely took a step forward.

'Stronger than I anticipated,' thought Hashirama. 'But it won't happen again.'

Naruto ducked his head to the side as a familiar kunai flew right where his head had been a second before, a familiar yellow flash accompanied less than a second later.

Blocking Minato's Hiraishin kunai with his sword, Naruto looked straight into Minato's eyes, sharingan eyes meeting Minato's blue eyes.

"You never would have imagined that this was going to happen, did you Yondaime?" asked Naruto.

"No I didn't," admitted Minato with a sad tone, before being replaced with the same serious look that Naruto had previously seen on both Hashirama and Madara, "but at this point it's obvious that you're not going to listen to reason. So no matters how much it pains me, I _will _stop you, even if I have to kill you."

Naruto smiled faintly at hearing that. "Still putting the village before anything else, are you? But I suppose that's one of the reasons why I did look up to you when I was a kid…when I was ignorant."

A momentary flash of obvious regret appeared on Minato's face. Using this to his advantage, Naruto kneed Minato in the gut causing said blond to hunch forward in pain.

Naruto then proceeded to aim for a high quick only for Minato to disappear in another yellow flash to reappear on the other side of Shukaku's head.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this as he turned to face his father. 'When did he place Hiraishin seals here?'

Being to angry to notice the fight that was taking place on top of his head, Shukaku raised one of his arms into the air as he inhaled and his stomach expanded outward, and brought his arm down towards his stomach, pounding it.

**"Wind Style: Renkudan!"**

Madara merely hmph'ed as the compressed air ball came straight towards both him and Hashirama. Shukaku's attack was merely reflected by Madara's attack. Hashirama for his part had merely surrounded himself by strong chakra filled wood spikes that had completely surrounded him, protecting him from Shukaku's attack.

"Is that all you got, Ichibi?" said Madara with some mocking present, his arms still crossed.

Shukaku growled for a third time as he prepared to attack again only for larger wood spikes to come out of the ground, surrounding both his feet and arms this time.

**"You again,"** said Shukaku in frustration as he looked at Hashirama.

Madara brought his hands together and weaved three handseals as his eternal mangekyo turned into the rinnegan, catching Hashirama off guard as he noticed this particular fact.

'How does he….'

Still within his Susanoo, Madara raised both of his hands up into the air.

**"Tengai Shinsei!"**

Both Naruto and Minato appeared in the middle of top of Shukaku's head in a dark and yellow flash respectively, sword and kunai clashing respectively once again.

Before they could continue, however they both glanced up into the sky to notice an enormous object that suddenly appeared coming through the dark clouds.

'Is that…a meteorite?' thought Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"What is this!" said Minato with wide eyes.

'Madara….' thought Naruto as he turned his attention towards the fighting below to see Madara with both his hands raised up into the sky with similar ringed pattern eyes.

'Rinnegan….'

**"You might want to focus on that thing up in the sky…" **suggested Kurama.

Naruto smirked as he faced his father who was still looking up at the sky. "Sorry Yondaime, but it seems our fight has been interrupted."

Minato turned to look at his son to see black energy began to surround him.

'His Susanoo!' thought Minato as he instantly disappeared into another yellow flash.

Shukaku could only look up into the sky.

**"NOT FAIR!" **he screamed in frustration.

Hashirama brought his hands together, ready to protect himself. He could ask questions later.

**"Wood Style: Hobi."**

A dome made completely out of wood surrounded Hashirama.

Madara for his part merely jumped up onto the roof where both Kabuto and Sarutobi were standing.

"I take it you have a way to protect us from this?" asked Kabuto.

"That won't be necessary!" exclaimed Naruto, rinnegan activated, as he raised both of his his just like Madara had.

Much to everyone's surprise, the slow coming meteorite stopped dead on it's tracks.

Shukaku grinned as raised one of arms up into the air in a familiar Bee fashion. **"YEAH BABY! WEEH!"**

Madara smirked. "You stopped one of them, but can you stop the other one?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow until he felt something collide with the meteorite. Looking up, he noticed that another same sized meteorite had clashed with the first meteorite.

Naruto could only scowl as he noticed this fact, the impact causing the first meteorite to continue down it's path.

Minato appeared in another yellow flash in front of Naruto, a rasengan in hand.

**"Rasengan!"**

The attack was immediately blocked by Naruto's Susanoo that had activated at the last second.

"Shukaku!" said Naruto as he glanced down at said bijuu.

Waves of sand shot towards Minato from Shukaku's body, wrapping all around said blond.

**"Time to die!"**

As the sand began to enclose on Minato, said shinobi merely disappeared in another yellow flash.

Naruto scowled at this. 'Damn that Hiraishin of his.'

**"Wood Style: Mokuryu!"**

Naruto brought one of his hands in front of him, just in time to repel the wood dragon that was coming straight at him from below, courtesy of Hashirama. The end result was the wood dragon being smashed into pieces.

Hashirama was then on the move, dodging multiple tendrils of sands as they came at him courtesy of Shukaku.

Naruto then turned his attention to the meteorites in the sky.

Kabuto smirked as he watched this. "You two," he began, motioning towards both Madara and Sarutobi, "attack him now while he's distracted."

Madara shook his head. "No."

Kabuto turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. "What do you mean 'no?'"

"Exactly what it means," retorted Madara, focusing his attention to Naruto.

Kabuto scowled as he brought his hands together into the ram seal. "Well as long as I control you, you can't-"

He stopped his statement as his eyes widened, noticing that he couldn't control Madara. "How….?"

Madara didn't bother to respond.

Naruto focused all of his power on the two meteorites in the sky. A few moments later, both meteorites were split into chunks, scattering everywhere and falling even faster.

Naruto turned his attention towards a smirking Madara as the debris began to hit their location.

'Just what are you after?' wondered Naruto as his Susanoo activated as the meteorite shards landed.

* * *

><p><strong>Before Impact:<strong>

Back in another part of the building where Gaara was currently facing off against both Mei and A, things were beginning to look bad for the young Kazekage.

Gaara panted hard in a kneeling position as he looked at both Mei and A. 'I can't take them both together at the same time….'

A was merely too fast for the redhead to dodge effectively, many injuries present on him to prove his point. And Mei had the one thing that was his natural weakness which was water.

And thanks to him not having a constant source of sand such as a desert to replenish his sand, most of his sand was becoming mud and not usable anymore. Of course he was able to make his sand un-muddy with his chakra, but that took up a lot of his chakra. And he was running out.

"I told you that this was the outcome," said Mei with a shake of her head.

"I'm not dead yet," retorted Gaara as he stood up, if barely.

"You can barely even stand," replied Mei with an amused look on her face. Really, watching the young shinobi in front of her was really too amusing, why with all that undying determination of his.

A for his part merely took a step forward and then disappeared.

Gaara brought up what little of his sand that he had left to his defense.

**"Water Style: Suijinchu!"**

"Agh!"

Gaara grunted in pain as a dense curved torrent of water colliding with what was the rest of his usable sand as well as managing to penetrate it was well, piercing his left side, causing him to go down in a kneeling position again.

Mei merely smirked.

"Gaara!" exclaimed Kankuro as he noticed this while trying to dodge Darui's sword strikes although not effectively thanks to the injury that he had sustained earlier.

"Don't belittle me puppeteer!" said Darui in a rare show of annoyance as he noticed that Kankuro was not completely focused on their fight.

Using this opening, Darui's grip on his sword tightened and disappeared only to appear in front of a shocked Kankuro, stabbing him right through said shinobi's chest.

"You should have been more worried about your own life," stated Darui, the look on his face going back to that of a guy that didn't give a shit as to what was happening.

Kankuro didn't respond. His eyes merely closed as he fell to the ground on his back with a thud as Darui retracted his sword from Kankuro's chest.

Seeing this, Gaara could only widen his eyes. But something else too. Something wet was rolling down his cheeks. A second later he realized that they were tears.

He didn't get time to dwell on those thoughts as A appeared behind him, intent on ending his life as well.

'I guess this is it….' thought Mei as she closed her eyes.

**"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri!"**

Immediately Mei's eyes snapped open as she looked to where A was to see a cube surrounding him with a sphere in the center.

"Tsuchikage!" said Mei as she turned to look up into the air to see a floating Onoki.

The cube began to expand only for it to began to propel towards the center to where A was a second later. A second after that, the cube exploded with great force.

"That's one," said Onoki as he floated down to float next to the kneeling Gaara.

"Boss!" said Darui with wide eyes.

"Calm down Darui," said C from behind him, hands together with his eyes closed. "You know that Raikage-sama is much faster than that."

And true to C's prediction, A reappeared beside Mei, completely unharmed.

Onoki smirked at this. "Still fast as ever eh, Raikage?"

A didn't respond at all.

"What are you doing here?" asked Mei with a frown.

"I would like to know this as well," said Gaara as he wiped the tears from his face. He could cry later if he wanted to and if he could survive this today. But now was not the time.

"Saving my own skin that's what," retorted Onoki with a snort. "I know for a fact that the Yondaime's brat will come after me. And with you two on his side, that could cause, no, would cause too many problems for my taste. Seeing that the Kazekage brat and Tsunade are fighting you right now, I thought that I might as well as join in to finish you off before you become even more of a nuisance to me later."

Mei shook her head. "Wrong move once again. You should have just enjoyed the last days that you had in your life instead of wasting it here today."

"I'll place my bets here," stated Onoki.

Mei shrugged. "It makes no difference at this point. You will die, plain and simple. It's just a matter of time."

"We'll see about that," replied Onoki.

Before they could begin once more, someone interrupted them.

"Mizukage-sama!" said Ao from behind both Mei and A, Chojuro also standing now behind him, his sword in front of him.

"What is it Ao?" asked Mei without turning around to face him.

"We have incoming objects hurling down from the sky!" he answered, his byakugan eye activated.

"What!" said Mei with a surprise look.

That was the last thing that was said as the ceiling above them began to collapse.

* * *

><p>Mito was not a woman to be surprised easily. But with those that knew her personally, that didn't come as a great surprise. She was the kind of woman that got all the facts together before acting. Also with Madara having have had told her what basically the future could turn out to be, well it left little room for surprise. The last time that she had been truly surprised had been when she had seen 'Tobi's' corpse but with much reason behind it.<p>

But at the moment she was truly surprised. One of Mito's main skill involved sensory but not just any type of sensory. Unlike other sensors, she could detect negative emotions from anyone, surpassing the limitations of a regular sensory type shinobi.

And what she was currently sensing was definitely negative alright.

'The Ichibi…' thought Mito as she continued to dodge punch after punch from her granddaughter. But it wasn't just the Ichibi that she sensed. It was also…

Mito's eyes widened as she barely managed to dodge another fast punch from Tsunade, jumping away to get a good distance away from Tsunade and to make sure that what she was sensing was true.

Tsunade scowled as she directed chakra to her feet. "Don't underestimate me!"

Mito was then sent flying trough a wall courtesy of Tsunade who had punched her in the face at an amazing speed.

'I hope that I didn't kill her,' thought Tsunade as she looked at the partially destroyed wall. 'I still have things that I need to ask her.'

"Really, to think that you would try to kill me. I'm rather sad Tsunade."

Tsunade could only sigh as she looked behind her to see Mito calmly standing there, although it seemed that her attention was focused elsewhere.

"Oi, don't ignore me!" said Tsunade in anger, but Mito did just that.

'These chakra,' thought Mito with a slight frown. 'They can't be you, Madara….Hashirama….'

Tsunade was prepared to rush at her grandmother again only for Mito to raise one of her hands, causing Tsunade to stop her rush and be on guard. Her grandmother was a dangerous individual, plain and simple.

"It seems our time has been cut short again, my granddaughter."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, not trusting her. "What are you talking about?"

The building all around them began to shake violently at that point.

"This," answered Mito as she jumped onto one of the walls and began to run across it and back to where she and Tsunade had come from.

"Oh no you don't!" said Tsunade as she followed behind her.

'If that Kabuto brat really did summoned them….' thought Mito in anger. She was pissed.

And hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn, especially that of a redhead.

* * *

><p>Obito could stare at Kakashi in amusement, not that anyone could blame him.<p>

"Is that you…Obito?" asked Kakashi with wide eyes.

"Ah, so you do remember me," said Obito with a chuckle. "Well I must admit that I'm rather touched."

Kakashi then shook his head. "No, this can't be real. _You _can't be real! The real Obito died years ago!"

Obito sighed, remembering that particular event. "Yes, you're right about something. I did die. But I'm back from the dead."

"That doesn't even make any damn sense!" replied Kakashi with narrowed eyes, preferring to believe that this was all just some sort of genjutsu.

Obito shrugged. "It kind of does if you have all the information," he replied calmly and added, "And no, this is not a genjutsu," he stated, seeing as Kakashi had been in the process of dispelling how a genjutsu was dispelled.

"Well then how are you alive then?" asked Kakashi.

Obito merely chuckled and shook his head at the same time. "That doesn't' concern you at all. But there is something that I want to ask you though…."

"And that is?" said Kakashi.

Obito looked at Kakashi straight in the eyes, mangekyo sharingan activated. "Why did you kill Rin that day?"

Kakashi's face turned to one of regret at hearing the question and being reminded of what he had done that day.

"That doesn't concern you at all," replied Kakashi after awhile, using the same line that Obito had used with him.

"Oh?" said Obito with a raised eyebrow before shaking his head. "I suppose that's only fair. Fine then. I'll just beat it out of you then."

Kakashi merely settled into a combat stance. "No you won't. I don't know how you're doing this Iwa jinchuriki, but I will not be defeated by this simple trick."

Obito laughed at hearing that and pointed to the side to where Han was calmly standing.

"The big guy is over there," he stated before continuing. "Besides, all jinchuriki suck at genjutsu, period. Do you seriously believe that he could be so efficient at it to have even have caught you, the _great_ 'Copy Cat' Kakashi? Please."

'He does have a point,' thought Kakashi but not relaxing in his stance in the slightest.

"I suppose it's long overdue that we have this match, Kakashi," said Obito while taking a single step forward. "I suppose you could call this a test for me, to see if I've actually surpassed you since all this time. And you'll find that I'm more efficient in using _my _eyes!"

Kakashi didn't respond as Obito rushed at him.

'This would be an Obito-like thing to do,' thought Kakashi calmly before he was on alert as three fuma shuriken appeared in front of Obito and headed straight towards him.

Kakashi didn't have time to dwell as to how his opponent had done what he had done as he was force to dodge all of the incoming shuriken.

Kakashi dodged the first one to the side before bringing both of his hands down to the ground.

**"Earth Style: Doryuheki!"**

An earth wall emerged from the ground in front of Kakashi, blocking the other two shuriken, each of them embedding into the earth wall.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

'What!' thought Kakashi as the fireball actually broke, burned, right through his earth wall, causing Kakashi to jump into the air to dodge the fireball, less he be burned alive.

**"Fire Style: Bakufu Ranbu!"**

Kakashi looked down below to see a massive vortex of fire that was spiraling progressively towards him at a great speed.

'No choice,' thought Kakashi as his sharingan transformed into his mangekyo.

**"Kamui!"**

The vortex of flames was completely absorbed by Kakashi as he landed on the ground, completely unharmed.

"Well well," said Obito with a ghost of a smile on his face, "it seems that you can control my eye very well, Kakashi. It also just saved your life. I think that you should be very grateful to me for having given you that gift, don't you agree?"

Kakashi visible frowned under his mask. "I have nothing to thank you for. After all, you're nothing more than a fake that was somehow created by Naruto or one of the others."

Obito could only shake his head again. "Still as stubborn as always, aren't you? But these eyes here should show you that I'm the real deal," stated Obito, referring to his mangekyo.

"The real Obito lost his right eye that day when he died," replied Kakashi, "and he gave me his other one. You have both when it shouldn't be possible. Even if the designs are the same, there's no possibility that you can be Obito."

"Just keep telling yourself that," retorted Obito as he rushed straight at Kakashi yet again. Only this time Kakashi did the same except with an all too familiar jutsu in his hand.

'Raikiri, eh?' thought Obito with an internal smirk as he and Kakashi were a foot away from each other. 'That's not going to work on me, Kakashi…'

Kakashi brought his right hand forward, his own original technique directed at Obito, intent on killing the 'fake.'

"You're through…" stated Kakashi as his Raikiri was but a mere inch away from Obito.

Obito's face took the form of a smirk as Kakashi's Raikiri merely phased right through him.

'What!' thought an alarmed Kakashi.

"No, you're through," said Obito as Kakashi completely faced right through him.

Kakashi looked down toward his torso to see chains wrapped tightly around him.

'When did he….!?' thought Kakashi as he turned to look at Obito's back.

"You're Kamui is imperfect," said Obito without turning to look at him. "Mine, however is not. It's as simple as that."

'We'll see about that,' thought Kakashi as he focused his mangekyo on Obito.

**'Kamui!'**

Obito could only chuckle as he turned his head back to look at Kakashi's surprise look. "That's not going to work on me either. Kamui is _my _jutsu, not yours. Now," Obito took a step forward towards Kakashi, "I will take my gift back if you don't mind."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes in that. No way in hell was he going to allow for that to happen. With that in mind, he tried the substitution jutsu to try to escape from the chains but found that he couldn't do that either.

'What the hell!' thought a surprise Kakashi with slight frustration.

Obito chuckled again. "Seems that you just figured out that you can't use any jutsu. That's because these chains are imprinted with chakra suppression seals. A handy tool, don't you think?"

Kakashi could only scowl as Obito stopped in front of him.

"Now, to take my eye back," said Obito as he brought one of his hands towards Kakashi's eyes.

But before he could rip out Kakashi's sharingan eye, the room around them began to shake.

'What is this?' thought both Kakashi and Obito.

Han for his part merely took to the exit of the room just as Roshi appeared at the exit or entrance from his point of view.

"What's going on?" asked Roshi as Han landed in front of him.

Han merely shook his head, not responding. Instead he merely took running down one of the hallways. Seeing no other choice, Roshi followed him.

'Well shit…' thought Obito as the ceiling above him and Kakashi began to collapse.

* * *

><p>On one of the lowest levels of the building, a massacre was currently taking place. A samurai massacre to be exact.<p>

'Wow…' thought Bee he watched the fight, if it could be called that, that was taking place in front of him.

The Hachibi chuckled. **"They're serious alright…."**

Bee could only agree completely with his partner.

A smirking Fu could be seen as she flew right past through a squad of samurai, leaving a small trail of a sparkling substance that shined extremely bright, making the samurai go blind.

"Oi, what is this!?" said one of the samurai as he looked around with the rest of the samurai, trying to find Fu, although their current blindness made it almost impossible.

"Just find the girl!" said another one.

"Why, I'm right here," said Fu as she appeared in the middle of the samurai squad, armor active and wings flapping.

The samurai had no time to react as a small tornado began to surround Fu, courtesy of her flapping wings. Said tornado blew the entire squad of samurai into pillars and walls, all either dead or close to that.

'I'm so fast now thanks to your wings Chomei,' thought Fu.

**"This is but the beginning Fu,"** replied Chomei as Fu directed her attention to the remaining samurai.

On another part of the large room, Yugito could be seen disappearing and reappearing behind every samurai in the area, each dropping to the ground, dead, after she did so. This was thanks to her cat like claws that she currently possessed.

Yugito stopped her taijutsu attacks, however as she stopped in a crouching position in front of a group of about fifteen samurai.

"Get her now!" said the apparent leader of this particular samurai group.

Doing as their leader instructed, the samurai all swung their swords forward, their chakra projectiles heading towards the crouching Yugito.

Yugito for her part smirked as she looked at this. 'Sorry,' she thought, 'but it's gonna take more than that to stop me.'

**"Nezumi Kedama!"**

A flaming ball of hair came out of Yugito's mouth, taking on the form of a flame engulfed mouse, heading to clash with the samurai's attack. But before doing so, Yugito's attack split into individual and similar ablaze hairs and clashed with the samurai's attack, eradicating them and continued heading towards the samurai.

The samurai could only stand in shock as the individuals flame covered hairs engulfed them all, causing them all to scream in pain as they were burned alive.

The other remaining samurai could only back away seeing as how their numbers were being rapidly depleted by two enemy nonetheless!

"This is suicidal!" screamed one of them. "We need to get out of here!"

Both Yugito and Fu stood in front of the remaining samurai, standing side by side.

"I guess it's time to finish this," said Yugito, making Fu nod, agreeing.

Before that could come true, however a loud rumbling noise above them caught the attention of all the occupants in the room.

'Oh?' thought a curious Bee. 'What is this?'

**"You might want to get out of this room…like NOW!"** suggested the Hachibi.

Both Yugito and Fu received the same message from both Matatabi and Chomei respectively.

Doing as instructed, the three jinchuriki were all beside the next, taking off towards the exit of the room towards the higher levels of the building.

The remaining samurai…they weren't so lucky.

* * *

><p>Outside the collapsing building in the snow stood a panting and kneeling Yagura.<p>

A few feet away stood Tobirama with his arms crossed and an impassive look on his face.

"I must say that you're stronger than I thought," stated Tobirama with some praise in his voice. "But unfortunately this has to come to an end." He was really interested to see how things were proceeding with his brother and Madara. But after seeing those two meteorites and then seeing said meteorites be split into pieces by some unknown force, well no one could blame him.

Yagura smirked lightly despite his almost defeated state. "I can say the same to you. But I'm not even close to being defeated yet," he stated as he stood up.

Tobirama rose an eyebrow. "What is that suppose to mean?" he asked.

Yagura chuckled as his body began to change…umm transform into that of a turtle or more specifically that of his bijuu, the Sanbi.

"Oh?" said Tobirama with a small look of surprise. "So you're a jinchuriki as well, are you?" He then smirked lightly as he gazed at the now giant three tailed turtle in front of him. "This will be more interesting than I thought…."

* * *

><p><strong>Present Time:<strong>

Back within the now completely destroyed room where the Kage Meeting had once been taken place, one Senju Hashirama appeared from within his wood dome-like structure that he had created before, not that it would have been needed. It seemed that he was immortal now except if that Naruto boy did the same thing that he had done to Madara's brother, Izuna.

But he wasn't going to let that happen, not just yet. He wanted answers from both Naruto and Madara, and dammit he was going to get them.

"So you used that jutsu to defend yourself, did you?"

Hashirama looked to his right to see Madara landing beside him.

"How do you possess those eyes?" asked Hashirama, ignoring Madara's comment and looking at Madara's rinnegan eyes.

Madara hmph'ed at hearing that. "It should be obvious to you how I possess these eyes, Hashirama."

"He has your DNA," stated Naruto as he appeared from within the other side of the room through the smoke, interrupting Hashirama from saying anything.

"So you know, do you?" asked Madara as he turned his attention towards his fellow rinnegan user.

Naruto shrugged as he stopped walking. "It was just a guess, really. But it seems that I was right."

Hashirama could only look at his once best friend in shock. "How did you-"

"We've fought many times Hashirama," interrupted Madara. "It wasn't that hard really."

Some distance back on the far side of the room, Kabuto appeared within the many debris, a troubled look on his face.

'I can no longer control Madara,' he thought which was the source of his trouble for the moment. 'But how did he brake free from my control? The Shinigami clearly said that he wouldn't be able to…'

He glanced to his right to see Sarutobi laying there on his back, currently on the process of regenerating.

'He won't be useful for now,' he thought before focusing to where Naruto, Madara, and Hashirama stood. 'But I still have the Shodai and Yondaime Hokage, as well as the Nidaime. Although he's busy with the Sanbi jinchuriki right now.'

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

Both Madara and Hashirama merely watched as Minato, appearing right in front of Naruto, was pushed back by Naruto's jutsu at a great force.

"Ugh!"

Minato landed on the floor on his back right in front of both Madara and Hashirama.

"I've really had it with that Hiraishin jutsu of yours, Yondaime," stated Naruto with a serious look.

**"DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME!"**

The others merely looked back to see Shukaku becoming visible behind Naruto, although he was missing one arm and with an enraged look on his face. Using his only arm, he pounded his stomach once more.

**"Wind Style: Renkudan!"**

"You've outstayed your welcome," stated Madara as he brought one of his hand forward, rinnegan activated and repelling Shukaku's attack.

Hashirama for his part brought his hands together as wood once more began to wrap tightly around Shukaku.

**"Not this again!" **said Shukaku with frustration.

Naruto for his part brought his arms together as well, forming handseals at an alarming rate.

**"Jiongu: Saishu Shageki!"**

'Impressive,' thought Madara as he appeared in front of Hashirama, his hands extended forward, 'to be able to combine three chakra natures into one single attack…but still…'

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

Naruto scowled as Madara repelled his attack, defending Hashirama as a result.

'Ninjutsu will be useless here right now,' thought Naruto. 'So I suppose kenjutsu it is…'

With that thought in mind, Naruto rushed at Madara who merely stood there.

"Not very smart," said Madara as he rushed at Naruto as well except bringing one of his hands forwards again.

**"Bansho Tenin!"**

Naruto smirked lightly as he was pulled forward, straight towards Madara whose Susanoo activated.

Naruto disappeared in a dark flash at the last moment, no where to be seen.

'That jutsu of his,' thought Madara with a slight scowl, 'is starting to become annoying…'

**"Let me go so I can kill you, you bastard!"** screamed Shukaku as he began trying to shake the wood spikes that were surrounding him. But why wasn't he able to do so!?

"You cannot escape," stated Hashirama as his right hand began to glow. "This wood has been made specifically for you, Ichibi. You will not escape."

Shukaku could only growl at this. Dammit, this was the same thing that had happened the first time that Hashirama had captured him all those years ago when he had still been alive. And now, he was being defeated in the same way. Damn that wood style of his!

**"Wood Style: Mokujin!"**

Shukaku could only stare at Hashirama as a large statue-like creature made out of wood formed below Hashirama, bringing him into eye level with Shukaku as he stood on top of its head.

"Now, sleep," said Hashirama as he jumped off the statue's head and brought his glowing hand forward, pressing it into Shukaku's forehead.

**"Hokage-Shiki Jijun Jutsu-Kakuan Nitten Suishu!"**

**"THIS IS NOT FAIR!"** screamed Shukaku. **"I JUST GOT HERE!"**

That was the last thing that was said as Shukaku's eyes closed.

'That takes care of the Ichibi,' thought Hashirama, turning his attention to where Madara and Naruto were fighting.

Both Naruto and Madara stood in front of each other, doing the exact handseals as the other at the same time. As they finished, they both took a breath in.

**"Fire Style: Goka Messhitsu!"**

Both Naruto and Madara released a massive stream of intense flames, each clashing with the other and trying to overpower the other.

'I will not lose!' they both thought.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as Minato was behind him in the next second, another rasengan in hand.

**"Rasengan!"**

The attack was merely blocked by Naruto's Susanoo ribcage, repelling Minato's rasengan, sending him flying back only to be caught by Hashirama's wood statue's hand which in turn placed the blond Hokage on top of its head where Hashirama was standing.

"That was a smart move," said Hashirama as he glanced down to see a kneeling and troubled looking Minato. "But it seems that he reacts faster than one can defend himself."

Minato didn't respond.

Both Naruto's and Madara's jutsu seemed to be even in power as neither could push the other back.

Madara's eyes widened in surprise partially as another Naruto appeared in mid-air, a Wind Style: Rasen Shuriken in hand.

'A clone,' thought Madara. 'He's fast in his techniques, I'll give him that…'

**"Wind Style: Rasen Shuriken!"**

The shadow clone Naruto threw the Rasen Shuriken straight towards Madara who had to abandoned his concentration on his fire jutsu for a second to activate his Susanoo once again. Said Susanoo merely used one its swords to swing the Rasen Shuriken away up into the sky where it exploded.

Using Madara's distracted state to his advantage, Naruto pushed more chakra into his attack, pushing Madara's fire jutsu back and engulfing the entire area into a sea of flames.

Madara merely stood within his Susanoo, arms crossed as he watched this.

Kabuto was on top of the burnt out and destroyed roof, or what remained of it.

'This building really won't last much longer,' he thought, sweating a bit. 'They aren't people, they're monsters….'

Sarutobi, who was completely regenerated and was at Kabuto's side once again, could only watch the fight in frustration.

'Why isn't he allowing for me to take part in this?' he wondered, glancing at Kabuto. 'I must be his bodyguard or something…'

Hiruzen really didn't like to be used the way that he currently was, but his discomfort could be put aside for the moment as there were more important things to worry about.

'Does Naruto-kun know about what happened with the Uzumaki clan?' he wondered. And of course, then everything would make perfect sense if Naruto did, as to why he was doing all of this. But it also meant bad news as well. Naruto would no doubt try to destroy Konoha as a result, and of course that was bad in itself. Well in his mind at least it was.

'He has to be stopped,' thought Hiruzen. 'Even though it does pain me, it has to be done. Konoha comes first above all….'

"It seems that this starting to look like a stalemate to me," said Madara once the previous fire jutsu had subsided.

Naruto for his part glanced to where Shukaku was to see him not moving. 'So, the Shodai stopped Shukaku…'

Kurama scowled. **"It's one of the things that he can do. He can even stop me like that…."**

Naruto could see that Kurama wasn't too thrilled about that fact, so he decided to not comment on it. Instead, he merely released his summoning jutsu that he had on Shukaku. Said bijuu merely disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Is this it for all of your surprises?" asked Madara.

Naruto chuckled as he looked at him. "And why would you want to know about what I can do anyways?"

Madara shrugged. "I'm just merely trying to see if you're the right one is all."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at that. "I'm not one of your experiments Madara."

Madara chuckled at that. "Really? Because I'm the one that has made you into what you currently are. There's no denying that fact." Madara took a small pause before continuing. "You only gained the knowledge as to what had happened to the Uzumaki clan because I told Mito."

Hearing this cause Hashirama's face to turn that into a surprise one. 'Mito?' he thought to himself. 'What does she have to do with this?'

"As to how you gained the rinnegan," continued Madara, "that was all me as well as your sharingan powers. You see Uzumaki Naruto, I have made you into what you are today."

Naruto was silent for a few moments at hearing that, before erupting into a full fit of laughter. "HAHAHAHA!"

Madara merely stood there with an impassive look on his face again.

Naruto's laughter quieted down as he looked Madara straight in the eyes. "Yes, you're right Madara. You did set me on this path, there's no denying that fact. And it seems that you're also the one that told Mikoto to give me the sharingan as well. Well, that really isn't that much of a surprise," said Naruto with a shrug at the end.

He then continued, "So yes, you have given me all of that and you did set me on this path. But it was _I _that walked it. It was _I_ that chose to keep going no matter what. No matter how much of a bastard I became as a result. It was _I_ that managed to make all of this possible because I chose to walk this dark path. You may have started this by telling Mito as to what really happened with the Uzumaki clan, but we both know that if I had simply chose to ignore it and not have listened to that at all, then we wouldn't be standing here today."

Naruto then shrugged again. "In a way though I suppose that you could call yourself the creator, but my role in this is not any less important. You could say that it was because of the _both_ of us that all of this that is happening here today is possible."

Madara hmph'ed again, but didn't reply.

"Uzumaki Naruto…."

Naruto turned his gaze up towards where Hashirama was standing only to come face to face with the steel look of one of the strongest shinobi in history.

Naruto smirked internally at this. 'So this is the true Shodai Hokage….'

"What is it?" asked Naruto.

"What happened to the Uzumaki clan?" asked Hashirama. "Is that why you're trying to destroy Konoha as well?"

Minato also listened to this with rapt attention, not knowing himself.

On the rooftop, Hiruzen lowered his head, not wanting to see how one of his teachers was to going to react in knowing what course of action he himself had taken all those years ago.

Kabuto merely readjusted his glasses.

Naruto chuckled lightly at this. "You wouldn't know, would you?" Naruto shook his head. "I can only say that you would be disappointed to see what your dream has become, Shodai Hokage."

"What are you talking about?" asked Hashirama with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly what I told you that was going to happen, Hashirama," replied Madara while looking at him with Hashirama also looking at him.

"The village, Konoha, your dream has become the very darkness that you and I were trying to destroy just like I told you it would become," stated Madara.

"What?" said Hashirama quietly with his head lowered.

"I don't know what you intended for Konoha to be," replied Naruto while looking straight at him, "nor do I know or will pretend to know as to how things were before the foundations of the shinobi villages. But I will tell you this," Naruto paused for a second before continuing, "Konoha, the hidden villages, they have become the same thing that made up the past. War after war. In some aspects though, this present might be even worse than as to how things were in the past. After all, I'm sure that there was at least loyalty among comrades and clans."

Hashirama snapped his head up at this, looking straight at Naruto, connecting the dots. "You can't possibly mean that Konoha-"

"Yes," interrupted Naruto, "they did. The Sandaime Hokage chose to abandoned his own comrades for the sake of the village," stated Naruto while turing his gaze towards where Hiruzen was standing at with his head lowered.

Hashirama as well turned to look at Hiruzen. "Is this true, Hiruzen?" he asked with a dangerous undertone.

Hiruzen merely nodded, not saying anything.

"This can't be…." muttered Minato as Kushina came into his mind. 'Kushina….'

"I see…" said Hashirama as he turned his back to Hiruzen, not saying anything else.

"That's the reality of things my old friend," said Madara with a sigh. "What you and I were chasing was but a mere dream that we could not accomplish in our lifetime."

Hashirama didn't respond.

Kabuto brought his hands to the ram seal. "That's enough with the chatter, don't you think?"

Madara merely grunted. 'He might not control me anymore but fighting Naruto here is something that I will not pass up…'

A red dot mark surrounded by a circle appeared on Hashirama's forehead as well red rings under both of his eyes. His eyes changed to that of a gold-ish color as well.

'So he's starting to get serious then,' thought Naruto as he felt the atmosphere around Hashirama change.

Minato for his part could only gulp slightly as he felt the overbearing presence of Hashirama thanks to the fact that he was currently so close to the Shodai.

'So this is the power of the Senju Hashirama,' thought Minato in wonder.

Kabuto merely smirked.

Madara for his part could only sigh and shake his head. 'Well, if he's going to go all out, I should as well…'

Turning his attention towards Madara, Naruto actually took a step back as he gazed at Madara's new Susanoo transformation as it began to change once more. And the end result...well the the point was….it was fucking huge.

"It seems that the games end here, Uzumaki Naruto…" said Madara. "This is my true Susanoo," he further added with a hint of pride within his voice.

Naruto could only chuckle slightly at this as he felt the power radiating from both shinobi.

'Any sane person would have ran away by now,' thought Naruto. 'Good thing that I'm not completely sane then….'

**"You want my power don't you?"**

Naruto's eyes widened partially as he found himself floating in an empty space of darkness.

"You…"

The Juubi chuckled as it looked at Naruto. **"I've been watching the little show outside. Highly amusing I must say…."**

"Who says that I want to use your power?"

The Juubi merely chuckled again. **"It's your only choice for the moment. Your mastery over the rinnegan or that of your mangekyo sharingan is no where near that of that Uchiha. And neither is your experience compared to that of either one of them. They were born to fight after all."**

Naruto merely turned his back on the beast. "I've already dealt with this kind of stuff from Kurama once. I won't be tricked, not anymore."

**"I won't try to escape,"** stated the Juubi. **"I'll admit it-you actually interest me, Uzumaki Naruto. You interest me to the point that I don't wish to kill you just yet. And those two out there….they can provide me with enough entertainment for awhile. Besides, wasn't this the reason as to why you revived me in the first place?"**

Naruto snorted as he turned his head back to look at the Juubi. "Let's get something straight…."

The Juubi was then brought down by a bunch of massive torii gates falling on top of it, making it unable to move besides its head.

**"You…."**

Naruto floated forward until he was right in front of the beast's massive eye.

"I am in control of you, not the other way around," said Naruto with narrowed eyes. "You might have thought that I was just another fool, but I knew exactly the risks that were involved in reviving you. The fact that I still revived you should show you that I am more than prepared to handle them. So don't try anything and you'll be locked up just like you once were in the past."

The Juubi could only stare at Naruto before its eye widened, not that Naruto could see it. And why did that happen you might ask yourself. That was because behind Naruto, the Juubi could see the shroud of the Rikudo Sennin, staring right back at it.

**'This boy….'**

The Juubi then chuckled until it transformed until a full laughter. It subsided after a few seconds. And when it did so, the Juubi focused entirely on Naruto.

**"Very well Uzumaki. I promise to behave for the time being."**

Naruto merely turned his back to the beast again. "Good…."

In the real world, only about three seconds had passed.

Both Madara and Hashirama took a step back once they felt the dark energy that was beginning to emanate from Naruto.

'This is not his Susanoo…' thought Madara with narrowed eyes.

'What is this?' wondered Hashirama.

Kabuto for his part couldn't help as his snaky tongue slithered out of his mouth again, interested to see what Naruto was planning to do.

'Naruto-kun…' thought Hiruzen, troubled.

Minato for his part could only stare at his son.

* * *

><p><strong>"Water Style: Mizu Tatsumaki!"<strong>

Mifune couldn't hold back the cringe as he fell to his knees as a spinning water vortex surrounded him.

'I can't move very well because of my injuries,' he thought. And true to his statement, his entire body was covered in wounds besides the first one that he had sustained from Kushina. But the major one that he sustained at the hands of the redhead had been a wound to his ribs and because of it, he couldn't move around as much. The result-his current condition.

Kushina let out a small grin as she picked up her sword that she had embedded to the ground.

"It seems that you're through, old man," she stated as she walked forward.

"It seems so," replied Mifune with a sigh. The redhead before him was a lot stronger than he had anticipated. Her mastery in kenjutsu was really astonishing. Even he couldn't keep up with the redhead, his wounds being the proof of that.

It was at that moment that Kushina stopped walking as a dark energy began to surround the room. Mifune stopped his thoughts as well, sensing the dark energy as well.

"I take it that this is not you're doing?" said Mifune.

Kushina didn't respond to him. Of course it wasn't her. But she had an idea as to whom it was from.

'Naruto-kun,' she thought. Of course she had felt the shaking from earlier but nothing had happened to this area it would seem. And although curious, she had a battle to win here. Not only that, but she figured that it was all just because of the fighting that was taking place. It was to be expected. But now this as well…

'What can you be doing, Naruto-kun?' thought Kushina.

"What will you do?" asked Mifune, braking Kushina out of her thoughts and causing her to turn her attention to the samurai.

Kushina didn't respond to him yet again. The spinning vortex of water that was surrounding Mifune disappeared, but he wasn't able to dwell on that or think what to do next as his head was off his body the next moment, courtesy of Kushina.

Kushina looked behind her to see Mifune's body falling to the ground as well as his head rolling off.

She then proceeded to run out of the room and headed towards where the dark energy was coming from.

* * *

><p>"W-what is this?"<p>

No one present had to ask Karin what she meant, everyone of them feeling the dark energy that currently present in the air. Currently, Sasuke and his team along with Mikoto were currently running through the snow covered plain back to the building where the Kage Summit was taking place.

Danzo was dead. Plain and simple as that. They had burned the entire camp to the ground as well as Danzo's body. Apparently Danzo had destroyed Shisui's eye before finally succumbing to death, so his body was of no importance anymore.

They had already felt small quakes in the area, but that just meant that the fighting had already began. But now this…

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. 'Why do I get the feeling that you're behind this, Naruto?'

Mikoto merely narrowed her eyes as well.

* * *

><p>Mito could only stare in shock at the sight before her. But that was something that no one could blame her for.<p>

Tsunade appeared behind her through what was once the entrance to the now destroyed room where the meeting had been taken place before all of this had happened.

But before she could attack her grandmother, she took notice of what had made her stop in the first place. Let's just say that it made her stop as well.

'This was not expected,' thought Madara as the dark energy surrounding Naruto began to take form.

Hashirama for his part could only stare at the sight before him in slight amount of awe.

'My son…' thought Minato with a sad look. 'To think that he's turned into this…'

**"Madara….Hashirama…."** said a demonic voice from within the dark energy. It took them a few moments, but then they recognized it as Naruto's voice.

The dark energy finally took the form of that of the Juubi with none other than Naruto standing on top of its head, his rinnegan activated.

Looking straight into the Juubi's one eye caused Madara's rinnegan to subconsciously activate.

"What is that thing?" muttered Tsunade with a shock look on her face.

'Naruto,' thought Mito with a troubled look, 'you couldn't possibly have had….'

Kabuto could only take a step back as he looked at the Juubi.

"Impossible…." muttered Hiruzen with wide eyes.

Minato could only look at the sight before him with wide eyes.

'So he managed to revive the Juubi,' thought Madara with a surprise look. 'Now that's unexpected….'

"Uzumaki Naruto," said Hashirama as he looked at said silver haired individual.

Naruto stood on top of the Juubi's head, arms crossed, rinnegan activated and with a slight smirk on his face.

**"Madara….Hashirama…."** repeated Naruto once again as he looked at them both. **"Just like you said. It's time to finish with the games and to end this."**

Madara merely hmph'ed again. "Let's see if you can back up that statement."

Hashirama didn't respond.

Naruto glanced at Hashirama before turning his gaze towards Madara, meeting said Uchiha's eyes.

This time, Rinnegan met Rinnegan.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**How's it going my faithful readers? Well at least I hope that you are faithful….**

**On another note, I posted this next chapter a lot sooner than I expected. But that's because I finished what I had to do a lot sooner than I expected as well. Now….I'M FREE! HELL YEAH!**

**That being said, here's the next freaking chapter! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And as you can see, this battle is almost coming to an end unfortunately. So stick around to see how it will finally end.**

**And I suppose that does it for me this time. Once again, I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you thought, meaning review!**

**So yeah.**

**Till next time.**


	43. The Kage Summit pt V

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto….again.  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, Black Zetsu, and Naruto<br>_"Hmm..."- _Dark Naruto_  
><em>**_"Hmm..."_**_- _Flashback_  
><em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 42:<br>The Kage Summit pt. V**

Fuka was currently breathing heavily, an act brought about thanks to her having ran at a fast speed from what was currently happening in the kage meeting room.

Fuka leaned one of the walls on the hallway that she was currently in, trying to catch her breath, all the while shaking a bit thanks to the suppressing and dark energy that she felt in the air.

'What is this energy?' she wondered to herself.

The last thing that she had seen before running out of the room had been Naruto and Madara going at it against each other with strange looking things surrounding them both, said things both looking demonic but Naruto's even more so than Madara's.

She had also felt the shakes that had occurred earlier but she didn't dwell on them too much. After all, there were a bunch of high powered individuals fighting throughout the entire building. It would be surprising if there weren't any shakes at all.

But all of that didn't compare to the current situation.

'Could Naruto be the one responsible for this?' thought Fuka to herself. It would make sense in a way. But then again, the people that he was fighting with could have also been the ones responsible. They weren't slouches themselves, hence the reason for her not having taken place in the fighting. She would have just gotten in the way, period. That and she didn't want to die just yet if she could help it, thank you very much.

But even so, it was highly unlikely for Naruto to have created such a dark energy as this. Even when he had used the Kyuubi's chakra and transformed into said bijuu back in Konoha days earlier, it felt nothing like this. And as far as she was concerned, that was the darkest power there was.

Footsteps coming the opposite way brought her out of her thoughts. She pushed herself off the wall and readied herself for a fight in case it was an enemy. But instead, a familiar redhead with a sword in hand appeared.

"Kushina?" said Fuka with a raised eyebrow. The last that she had seen of the redhead had been said redhead leaving the room where the kage meeting had been to fight some old guy that was the apparent leader of the Land of Iron and of the samurai. But she was now here….did that mean that she had won?

"Fuka," said Kushina as she stopped in front of her fellow redhead and Uzumaki.

"Where is Naruto-kun?" Kushina asked her.

Fuka merely tilted her head to where she had come from. "Over there where the Kages had been having their little meeting, most likely still fighting the previous Hokages and those Uchihas."

"What!" exclaimed Kushina with wide eyes. "What do you mean 'the previous Hokages!?'"

Fuka took a step back from the redhead. "Exactly that. That Kabuto person summoned them using that **Edo Tensei** jutsu."

Kushina growled at that. 'I should have known that Kabuto was responsible for this,' she thought before walking around Fuka, intent on heading to where Naruto was fighting.

Seeing this, Fuka placed one of her hands on Kushina's shoulders. "I would advise to you not going over there," stated Fuka with a shake of her head. "I'm sure that you feel this dark power in the air, and while not certain as to what the cause for it is, I'm sure that it has to be from one of them that are fighting over there."

Kushina for her part merely shook Fuka's hand off of her shoulder and took a couple of steps forward before stopping. "I know that," replied Kushina without turning to look at Fuka. "But it doesn't matter to me. Someone very important to me is fighting over there and I'll be dammed if something happens to him without me doing something to help him."

Fuka already knew who the 'he' was. "Why?" she asked with a curious look. "I know that he's your son, but you….you act more like as if he's not even that but just the guy that you fell in love with."

This time, Kushina did turn her head back to look at Fuka, a small smile on her face. "That's because I did fall in love with him. I don't know how, but I did. It might be wrong, but I don't care. I was in part at fault for how his life turned out to be, so I'll always be there, right by his side to support him in everything that he does. I don't know if that will make up for my mistake, but I'm willing to try."

"I thought that you were in this because our clan was wiped out and left to ruin by Konoha?" asked Fuka, the curious look still in place, wanting to know what exactly the redhead was thinking.

Kushina turned her head forward and did a small shrug. "Yes, that is also true. The only feeling that I have left for that place is nothing more than just hatred and would like nothing more than to just see it burn to the ground along with all its occupants. But…."

Kushina took a small pause and another smile graced upon her lips, not that Fuka could see it since Kushina was turned around.

"I guess that my love for him is just simply stronger."

With that, Kushina resumed her running, intent on getting to where Naruto was at.

Fuka for her part could only stare at the retreating redhead, surprise still present all over her face.

* * *

><p>'This is most troubling,' thought Mito as she looked up to the enormous revived beast. 'I had no clue that he had done this!'<p>

Not only that, but Madara hadn't said anything about this to her either! So either he had felt the need to leave her out of the loop on another subject, or he didn't know that this was going to happen either.

Turning her head to the side, she saw Madara standing within his perfect and complete Susanoo, arms crossed yet again and with an impassive look on his face.

'So he was revived then,' she thought before looking towards where a large statue made out of wood stood and looked up towards its head to see a kneeling blond that resembled what Naruto had looked like as well as a familiar individual.

'Hashirama….' thought Mito with another troubled look. Why she was troubled she didn't know. It could be because her husband was back, and she didn't want to know what he would think of all of this. Or maybe something else entirely.

Kabuto for his part could only stare at the Juubi in front of him with a blank look on his face before it turned to a smile that would have made Orochimaru proud.

'This is perfect,' he thought with a chuckle as his snake like tongue slithered out of his mouth again. 'This is beyond perfect! The Juubi, the same beast that the Rikudo Sennin sealed within himself to become the first ever jinchuriki in existence…it will be mine!'

On top of the Juubi's head stood a calm and serious looking Naruto with his arms also crossed, the small smirked that had been on face having disappeared.

The Juubi chuckled within his mind, having replaced Kurama for the moment.

**"Yes, the feeling of the real world, it's….amazing. It sure has been awhile."**

'Don't get too attached to it,' replied Naruto.

The Juubi simply chuckled again. **"Right…."**

'Now, show me you power,' stated Naruto as he looked at both Madara and Hashirama.

**"Of course,"** replied the Juubi as he also focused on both Madara and Hashirama, seeing them both to be the ones that would provide him with the most amusement.

Sensing this, Madara's Susanoo prepared its now single sword, intent on striking the beast.

'It would appear that my seeing through time had not been perfected after all,' thought Madara calmly as he looked at the ten tailed beast. 'Well, I suppose that it shouldn't be too much of a surprise. The Shinigami did told me that my mastery of my rinnegan was nowhere near that of the Rikudo Sennin.'

He was broken out of his thoughts as Hashirama spoke.

"The Juubi is it," commented Hashirama, his face devoid of any emotion. "It seems that you must not know the consequences that will come because of this, Uzumaki Naruto."

Hearing this, Naruto shook his head. **"You're wrong," **answered Naruto, his voice altered thanks to the Juubi's chakra that was currently running through his chakra coils. **"I know very well what the risks are. I'm just prepared to handle them is all that there is to it."**

"I'll believe that when you have stopped us," said Madara, cutting into the conversation.

Naruto turned his attention to the Uchiha. **"You should already know that you have lost, Madara. Not even you have something that can stand up against me now."**

Madara chuckled at that. "You? Don't you mean the Juubi? Do you really believe that this is your power, Uzumaki Naruto?" Madara then raised his right arm, pointing it straight up at Naruto. "This is not your power. It's the Juubi's. It's as simple as that. You are merely borrowing it."

**"Just like you were planning on doing,"** retorted Naruto. **"I don't know exactly what made you change your mind, but I know for a fact that you were planning on using the Juubi to cast a genjutsu on the world to control it just like Tobi was planning on doing as well. Now what do you call that?"**

Madara chuckled again. "Then you and I are the same in that regard, I suppose. We're both simply worthless."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Naruto's face. **"I suppose that I agree with you on that, Madara."**

It was at this point that Minato stood up and looked straight at Naruto with an angry look on his face. "Why?" he asked him, making Naruto glance at his father. "You yourself admit that you are wrong by doing this. So why? Why do you continue to do it!?"

Naruto could only chuckle while shaking his head. **"Why do you continue to ask the same question over and over again? You should know by now that I'm simply following the normal course of action that anyone else would have taken if he were in my shoes."**

"That is where you are wrong," stated Hashirama as he looked at Naruto straight in the eyes. "Only those who are truly strong can resist the temptation of going down the path that you are."

Naruto laughed while spreading his arms. **"Hahaha! Fine then. Call me weak! You may actually be right on that, Hashirama. Perhaps I am weak because I chose this. Perhaps this is the wrong way of doing this, that there is another way and a better one at that. But this is the reality of things now! I chose this, to be 'weak' as you put it. But that's being human for you, Hashirama."** Naruto shook his head. **"You seem to think that people can just forgive each other like we breath oxygen everyday. Buy you're absolutely wrong on that. People can just put up appearances, saying that they are truly sorry while on the inside actually thinking the exact opposite and vice versa. Words of forgiveness come easy, that is true. But true love and true forgiveness do not."**

Naruto then looked at his father. **"You expected for me to have just forgiven everything that Konoha did to me. And you know what? I almost did. Because there were some people that actually did began to see me for myself, and not just as simply as the 'Kyuubi brat.' But there was always something within me that would just never forgive any of them, not completely at least. This resentment. I had always pushed it down, hiding what I truly felt within a dumb smile. But once I started to learn the true nature of the village…well all my suppressed emotions just came to the surface. You can call me weak or a brat with anger issues for doing all of this, but before doing that, you should put yourself in my shoes. What would you do? Would you have chosen to be the better person and just forget about everything? Highly unlikely, but if so, then you can start calling me a bastard and a brat or whatever other names that you want. But if not…"**

Madara, Hashirama, and Minato all took a step back as the Juubi let out a massive roar, sending them all along with Mito and the rest to their knees from the powerful shaking of the earth itself.

**"Then you can go to hell!"**

Madara looked up towards Naruto with a small amount of what appeared to be praise before the look disappeared completely as if it had never been there.

Naruto turned his attention to Madara or more specifically Madara's Susanoo as said Susanoo raised its sword upwards, intent on cutting down the Juubi.

'That's not going to work,' thought Naruto.

The Juubi for its part merely intercepted the sword as it came downward with one of its hands.

Madara narrowed his eyes as he saw this. 'It is indeed powerful…'

Instead of letting go of the sword as Madara tried to raise it up again, the Juubi simply broke it in half.

'What!' thought Madara.

Seeing this happening, Hashirama brought his hands together as he jumped off the wood statue's head that he had been previously standing on.

**"Senpo: Mokuton: Shin Susenju!"**

Naruto actually raised an eyebrow in surprise a another wooden statue of titanic proportions, a lot bigger than the previous one, rose from the ground beneath Hashirama, said individual standing on its head. Said statue possessed thousands of hands on its back in countless concentric rows while its two main ones were clasped together as if praying. The statue was tall and big enough that it actually reached to the Juubi's upper chest.

Naruto smirked at this. 'This will be interesting to the end, it seems…'

Both Hashirama and Naruto locked eyes at this point, both looking determined to defeat the other.

**"Chojo Kebutsu!"**

All the hands from Hashirama's statue were suddenly in motion, intent on punching the shit out of its target which was none other than the Juubi in this case.

Seeing this, the Juubi brought forth both of its arms in front of it to block itself but without much success. There were just so many damn punches to properly block! Not only that, but the sheer force of them was enough to start pushing the Juubi back.

'I will not lose this,' thought Hashirama from on top of his statues head, hands still clasped together just like the statue that he had summoned.

'Hashirama,' thought Mito as she watched this. She then saw movement behind her causing her to look back to see Tsunade walking towards her.

"That's my grandfather," said Tsunade with wide eyes.

Mito simply turned her back on her. "Yes it is," she stated with narrowed eyes, an action that was missed by Tsunade. "You surely do act all high and mighty when you yourself do the exact same things that we do."

Tsunade turned her head to look at her grandmother's back. "What?" she said with her eyes also narrowed.

"You know what I'm talking about," retorted Mito with an angry look as she looked behind her to look straight into Tsunade's eyes. "Violating the dead….that is simply one of the worst things that one can do."

A frown appeared on Tsunade's face. "You have no right to talk. As far as I can see you have also done-"

"We haven't," interrupted Mito. "The **Edo Tensei** is completely different from Naruto's rinnegan powers. He actually brings the people back from the dead, their wills intact. Not to be used as some tool. That's what the **Edo Tensei **does. But that's not the worse part." Mito sighed here. "The fact that you actually try to play the good guy while doing something like this is just simply low. While we have done some wrong things, we don't lie about them or try to say that it was righteous."

"I have nothing to do with this!" stated Tsunade with a fierce look.

"The fact that you are teamed up with this Kabuto is enough," stated Mito as she turned her head to look at the fight, intent on joining it. "Remember this Tsunade: I will kill Kabuto. Hashirama had nothing to do with this and yet you have disturbed his rest. And if I do find out that you are part of this, then I will kill you as well."

With that, Mito jumped upwards into the air, biting her thumb enough to draw out blood and did the necessary handseals for her jutsu. Once done, she brought her hand down.

**"Summoning Jutsu!"**

A poof of smoke appeared beneath her as she landed on top of the smoke.

Tsunade's eyes widened as hawk like creature with red colored feathers came out of the smoke with Mito kneeling on top of said summoned animal's head.

'That's not a hawk,' thought Tsunade as she studied the summoned animal better. 'That's…a phoenix!'

Flying at top speed, the red colored phoenix headed straight towards where Kabuto stood.

Sensing this, Kabuto turned his head to see a redhead that he did not recognized coming towards him on top of some bird like animal. Kabuto merely smirked as Hiruzen appeared in front of him, already inhaling.

**"Fire Style: Karyudan!"**

Seeing the projectiles of fire bullets heading towards her, Mito simply looked at them with a calm look, not bothering to even trying to dodge them. And as to why she didn't try to dodge them was because rings of fire began to surround her summoned phoenix's wings who in turn simply absorbed the fire bullets.

"You'll have to do better than that Kabuto!" she stated as the phoenix sent projectiles of fire towards them instead.

Seeing this, both kabuto and Hiruzen jumped upwards and out of the way of the attack.

"Now!" said Mito as the phoenix's beak opened and a stream of fire was sent to both Kabuto and Hiruzen at top speed.

At the last second, a large snake was suddenly around Kabuto, shielding him from the stream of fire.

Hiruzen? He wasn't so lucky.

He landed below on the rooftop as a fireball. The fire around him soon began to extinguish, his body already regenerating.

Kabuto for his part calmly landed behind where Hiruzen lay, the snake around him disappearing. He looked up towards where Mito's phoenix was currently flying with said redhead looking back at him.

"This jutsu of yours," she began, "I will stop it."

Kabuto smirked as he readjusted his glasses. "I'm not sorry to tell you this, but even if you do kill me, the jutsu will not be stopped. It can only be stopped by the user which is me. And I really don't feel like doing that."

"I'll simply make you then," retorted Mito.

Kabuto chuckled before he began to study Mito like some sort of experiment. "Uzumaki Mito, I take it? Said to be the strongest kunoichi to have ever lived as well as the very first jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Studying your body once I kill you will be most satisfying."

Mito's face took that of a disgusted one. "You really have issues you know…."

Before they could contiune, Hiruzen spoke from where he lay with a surprised tone.

"Mito-sama? Is that you?"

Mito glanced at him with a disinterested look on her face. "Hiruzen I take it? Well seeing you lay there like you are is a big plus for this annoying jutsu."

Hiruzen could only stare at her in shock. Yes, he had suspected that she had been up to something with how she had changed after the Uzumaki clan had been destroyed. But suspecting and actually seeing it come true are two very different things.

"So you really were-" began Hiruzen before he was interrupted.

"Yes," said Mito. "But did you really think that I was just going to let slide what you and those damn elders did? No, I wasn't. And as you can see, my retribution has already started."

Hiruzen could only look at her with an unreadable expression on his face as he stood up, his body already having regenerated.

"So you're a traitor as well," he stated. "What would sensei think-"

"Cut that crap," interrupted Mito again with narrowed eyes. "Because it's not going to work on me."

Hiruzen didn't reply as a staff appeared in his hands in a puff of smoke.

Kabuto simply chuckled again.

* * *

><p>'Enough of this,' thought Naruto as Hashirama's attack continued to attack the Juubi, slowly but steadily pushing said bijuu back.<p>

**"Most surprising,"** said the Juubi from within Naruto's mind. **"This human is not half bad. I'm going to enjoy killing him."**

Naruto didn't reply as he his hands began to form handseals at an even faster rate than he had ever done before. His rinnegan began to glow as wind began to surround him.

Seeing this from the ground, Madara raised an eyebrow. 'His rinnegan is actually gaining more and more power in this fight. I suppose true combat is the best way for a shinobi to grow after all.'

With that in mind, he also brought his hands together as he prepared his next jutsu from within his Susanoo.

**"Wood Style: Kajukai Korin!"**

Naruto looked down towards the Juubi's feet to see an actual forest began to appear.

Naruto smirked. 'Not bad…'

'So Madara also has my Mokuton abilities,' thought Hashirama as he also noticed the emerging forest.

'This is not going to work though,' thought Naruto as he jumped down from the Juubi's head, the wind from before surrounding him like an armor similar to that of A.

**"Watch out,"** said the Juubi from within Naruto's mind. **"I've sensed some sort of poison that is present from within those flowers of those trees."**

'Thanks for the heads up,' replied Naruto as he touched down on the forest, destroying the forest completely thanks to that of his wind armor as an actual tornado like form began to surround him and destroy everything within its radius. 'But poison is not effective with someone like me. Now deal with that jutsu.'

The Juubi scoffed. **"I was just trying to see what exactly it would do. But if this is all…"**

Naruto looked up to see the Juubi actually begin to fight back. It began to prepare an all familiar jutsu that Naruto was familiar with.

**"Bijudama!"**

Hashirama had a surprise look on his face as a beam of black-ish, purple-ish energy began to be fired from the Juubi, destroying all of the arms that were sent to punch it.

'I thought that that jutsu could only be performed in a ball form,' thought Hashirama, having recognized the strongest attack that was known to all of the bijuu.

He then jumped off the wood statue as the beam began to hit the statue, making it start to crumble into pieces.

'So this is the power of the Juubi,' he thought in mid-air.

"Impressive."

Naruto turned his head forward to see Madara calmly standing there calmly, still within his Susanoo.

"It seems that your affinity to wind has been amplified thanks to your rinnegan," stated Madara, looking at Naruto's wind armor.

Naruto smirked at him. "And you? Still hiding in that Susanoo of yours? Why don't you come out, or are you too scared to face me without it?"

Madara smirked as well. "I'm not stupid, Uzumaki. Trying to anger me will not work either. My Susanoo is both my best defense and offense right now."

Naruto shrugged at that as he got ready to charge. "We'll see about that."

He then disappeared from sight, making Madara raise an eyebrow in surprise.

'He's fast,' thought Madara as he tried to locate Naruto.

He looked up to see Naruto in mid-air, a familiar jutsu in hand except that it looked a lot stronger than before.

'It must be because of his wind armor,' thought Madara as he prepared to counter-attack.

Naruto then threw his jutsu as Madara finished his handseal on the tiger seal.

**"Wind Style: Rasen Shuriken!"**

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

The Rasen Shuriken and the larger than normal fireball met, trying to repel the other. Now naturally, fire won against wind. But there were exceptions, like if the wind jutsu were to be much stronger than that of the fire based jutsu. And that was the case here.

The Rasen Shuriken cut right through the massive fireball and headed straight towards Madara who in turn brought the shield from his Susanoo forward for defense, the Rasen Shuriken clashing with its second obstacle.

But much to Madara's surprise, it wasn't long before the jutsu shattered through the Susanoo's shield as well. With no more obstacles, the Rasen Shuriken impacted with Madara's Susanoo.

'It's breaking through,' thought Madara with narrowed eyes, seeing the armor of Susanoo starting to crack. 'His affinity towards wind is powerful indeed…'

That was the last of his thoughts as the Rasen Shuriken broke through his Susanoo. But instead of being panicked, Madara merely brought one of his hands forward.

**"Shinra Tensei."**

Naruto sighed as his jutsu was repelled by Madara. 'And here I thought that I had him….'

A yellow flash in front of him brought Naruto out of his thoughts as Minato appeared in front of him with his Hiraishin kunai in hand.

Naruto merely stood there as Minato brought his Hiraishin kunai forward. Said blond's eyes widened as his kunai was repelled, courtesy of Naruto's wind shield.

"You'll have to do better than that," said Naruto as he intended to blow Minato away.

But Minato simply disappeared in another yellow flash and reappeared a good distance away.

Taking the time to study his surroundings, Naruto noticed several Hiraishin seals placed all over the floor. 'When did he have the time?' thought Naruto as he turned to look at Minato who was in the process of brining his right hand down.

**"Summoning Jutsu!"**

A big puff of smoke appeared, only to reveal Gamabunta, the toad chief, with Minato standing on top of his head.

'The toads, eh?' thought Naruto. 'It's been awhile since I've last seen them….'

On the other side of the room, well outside basically as that part was basically destroyed by this point, Hashirama panted as his left arm was in the process of regenerating while standing on top of his previously smaller constructed statue.

**'I've had enough,'** thought the Juubi. It had merely been toying with Hashirama at this point, trying to see what said Senju was capable of, but now it was through with that. **'He's not on that Sennin's level, but he's not that bad either. But it's over now….'**

Hashirama could only look up to see the Juubi's tails begin to move at this point.

'What is it up to now?' he wondered.

With a swipe from one of its tail, the Juubi sent a surge of powerful wind towards Hashirama who in turned used his wood statue to remain in place. It wasn't long, however as the wood statue began to crumble thanks to the pressure.

The next thing Hashirama knew, he was sent flying courtesy from another swipe from one other tail of the Juubi.

'It's just toying with me,' realized Hashirama as he impacted with the only wall that was still standing from what had previously been a room, right below where Hiruzen was currently taking a beating of his own.

'I can't keep up with her,' thought Hiruzen as the entire left side of his body was in the process of trying to regenerate itself, his staff currently laying on the ground.

But not only was the redhead fast, but that summoned phoenix of her was powerful as well. It withstood all of his fire jutsu as well a his earth based ones as well. Not only that, but it was too fast for him to hit it with any of the water jutsu in his arsenal. But when had she gotten the summoning contract of the phoenix?

And with all that, its attack speed was impressive as well as its attacks, half of his body being burned being the proof of that.

"You're through Hiruzen," said Mito as a large circle filled with seal symbols appeared around Hiruzen.

Hashirama, who was still stuck in the wall, looked up, having recognized Mito's voice.

'Mito,' thought Hashirama as he looked at her. 'I shouldn't be surprised….'

The seal symbols surrounded Hiruzen who found that he couldn't move at all.

"What are you doing to me?" he asked her.

"I'm going to seal you away," answered Mito. "That is, until I find a way to permanently stop you."

Watching this, Kabuto brought his hands together, intent on summoning more dead shinobi from within his collection.

Tsunade landing right beside him stopped him from doing so.

"What is it?" he asked as he looked at her. The next thing that Kabuto knew, he was suddenly smashed right into the ground, falling right through the floor and off the ceiling and down below.

"You bastard…." muttered Tsunade with a furious look.

Mito actually smirked at the sight. 'There's hope for you left, my granddaughter,' she thought before focusing on Hiruzen.

**"Fuinjutsu: Shi no Shiiringu."**

The last thing that Hiruzen saw was Mito's emotionless look before he was completely surrounded by the sealing symbols, immobile, and with no life. He was basically in a comatose state at that point.

**"Hiruzen!"** said his staff before it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Turning to Tsunade, a small smile graced Mito's face. "I must say that you have surprised me today, Tsunade."

Tsunade huffed as she turned to look at her grandmother. "I didn't do it for you. That bastard had it coming is all."

"Mito-chan? Tsunade-chan?"

Both women froze as they both recognized the voice.

"Hashirama?" said Mito with wide eyes, Tsunade with the same expression.

They didn't to continue as a massive roar caught their attention. Looking upward, even Mito who was still riding her summoned phoenix, they saw a massive hand coming downwards where they were currently in.

Hashirama used his wood style to summon tendrils of woods to reach Mito's phoenix who was in the process of flying out of range.

Tsunade for her part pushed massive amounts of chakra to her feet to propel her backwards and out of the range of the massive hand. The end result was the entire room collapsing. Well it really wasn't a room at this point. More like…half a room? But the point was that it was completely destroyed.

This is the scene that Kushina walked into, stopping herself at the last second at the doorway, let her be squash along with the rest of the room.

'That was close,' thought Kushina with a small sigh, before focusing on the matter at hand.

Naruto reappeared on top of the Juubi's head, releasing a sigh. 'That was overboard you know.'

**"Know it wasn't," **replied the Juubi. **"I haven't even gotten started yet."**

Mito looked behind her to see Hashirama landing on her summoned animal.

"It is you…" muttered Mito, shocked. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, making her shake her head. This was no time to be crying, dammit.

'It seems that I can move on my own for now,' thought Hashirama before walking up towards Mito. "Mito…"

Mito looked at him while trying to clear the tears from her face.

"There's no need to cry," said Hashirama with one of his famous smiles back on his face.

Mito for her part couldn't hold herself as she actually flung at Hashirama, kissing him. Hashirama's eyes widened in a comical way before following Mito's example and kissing her back.

Naruto looked forward to see both Minato and Gamabunta landing in front of him, the latter smoking from his pipe. Moments later, Madara appeared beside Minato.

**"Oi, Minato,"** said Gamabunta as he glanced up above to see his 'dead' summoner. **"What the hell is going on here? I thought that you were dead."**

"The situation is a bit complicated right now," replied Minato as he looked up towards his son.

Following his gaze, Gamabunta raised an eyebrow.

**"What the hell is this?"**

No one answered him.

'Oi Juubi,' thought Naruto. 'No more holding back. I want to end this now.'

The Juubi chuckled within Naruto's mind. **"If you say so…"**

Minato and Madara both took a step back as they felt the pressure around the air began to change.

'So the Juubi is finally going to get serious,' thought Madara.

* * *

><p>"Oi, what is that!?"<p>

Looking toward where Suigetsu was pointing, Mikoto stopped dead on her tracks, causing the others to stop as well.

"That's where the dark chakra is coming from," stated Karin with a fearful look. "But it's gotten even more intense somehow…"

'So you've done it, Naruto….' thought Mikoto with a smirk and an eager look on her face.

Sasuke glanced at his mother to see her smirk.

"Do you know what is going on here?" asked Sasuke as he looked at her.

"You might say that," replied Mikoto before looking back to where the massive beast stood. "And trust me when I say that you will not want to get too close right now."

Not sure why she was saying this, Sasuke simply decided to follow her mother's advice. She hadn't been wrong before.

* * *

><p>Breaking the kiss, both Mito and Hashirama looked down to see the earth beneath the Juubi began to crack.<p>

"It seems that he's getting serious…." muttered Hashirama.

"Don't get involved," said Mito as she looked at him. "I'll find a way to permanently get you back here to life again and-"

"Mito," interrupted Hashirama with a sad sigh. "I don't want that. I've already died. My time in the living world is over. I just want to rest now."

Mito herself could only sigh at that. Of course she should have expected that. That was just the kind of person that Hashirama was. That was why she had asked Naruto to not bring him back to life in the first place. But seeing him again made her rational part disappear, if only for the moment. And Hashirama was the only person who could do that to her.

"Besides," continued Hashirama while looking towards where a calm looking Naruto stood, "I've still yet to get a solid answer from that boy as to why he's doing this."

Mito looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "That's because-"

"It's not that," interrupted Hashirama with a shake of his head. "There's something else to it and I want to know what it is. But first…"

Hashirama turned to look at Mito with another one of his smiles. "I know now that you are a part of this and I understand why you are doing this as well."

Mito's breath hitched as Hashirama spoke.

Hashirama sighed, before continuing. "Honestly, I never would have thought that my own creation would have caused you so much pain."

Mito shook her head. "It's not your creation anymore, Hashirama. Hiruzen and the rest destroyed it."

"I still created it though," retorted Hashirama. "I suppose that Madara had been right after all…."

Hashirama then let go of Mito and proceeded to jump down of the flying phoenix before looking back at a troubled looking Mito one more time with one last smile.

"No matter what you do, I will forgive you and will always love you."

With that last statement, Hashirama jumped off and headed straight towards Naruto.

'Thank you, Hashirama,' thought Mito as, against her will once again, more tears started to roll off down her cheeks. 'I really did need that...'

Naruto looked up to see Hashirama coming at him with the same emotionless look that he had seen with before, hands clasped together.

**"Wood Style: Hotei!"**

Naruto glanced at the ground beneath Juubi's feet for a second as several large wooden hands came out of the ground, intent on restraining said beast before turing his attention to Hashirama.

The same markings from before appeared on Hashirama's face again as he landed in front of Naruto.

**"This is over with,"** stated Naruto, his voice going back to what it had been before as the wooden hands beneath the Juubi's feet simply cracked into million of pieces, said beast not having moved an inch.

"You seem to have gotten truly serious," stated Hashirama.

**"Dragging this out any longer would be pointless,"** replied Naruto with a slight smirk. **"Not only that, but it was foolish for you to have come up here, Hashirama."**

And true to his word, black energy began to surround Hashirama who stood there calmly.

"I know that," said Hashirama as he looked at Naruto with another smile. "I'm full in control of my body right now. I have no interest in this battle anymore except for one thing…."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in curiosity but didn't drop his guard either. **"And that is?"**

"Why are you truly doing this?" asked Hashirama as he looked at Naruto straight in the eyes. "I know that you don't care as much as you say that you do about what happened to the Uzumaki clan. Well, not as much as to be doing what you're doing that is."

Naruto let out a smile of his own as he approached the immobile Hashirama as the black energy around his feet prevented him from moving.

"Do you really want to know something like that?" said Naruto as he stopped in front of Hashirama.

"I do," answered Hashirama. "That's the only thing that is keeping me here."

Naruto was silent for awhile, before answering. "You might not realize this, but I have already given the answer to that question."

"Remind me, if you will," said Hashirama.

Naruto placed one of his hands on Hashirama's shoulder. "My reason is a selfish one. One that I have always had within me since I was a child and knew how to think. Why everyone always hated me. Why I was always alone…"

Understanding began to dwell on Hashirama as he closed his eyes. "I see…." he said quietly.

"I will destroy Konoha," stated Naruto with no remorse.

Hashirama chuckled softly. "I know that you will…" He then looked up to where Mito was to see her watching everything and sent her one final smile before Naruto dragged his soul out of his body.

"Farewell, Senju Hashirama," said Naruto softly as he released Hashirama's soul.

Despite the seeming dark action, Mito actually smiled.

Naruto turned to where Madara stood on top of Gamabunta along with Minato who was looking rather angrily at Madara.

Gamabunta let out a puff of smoke from his pipe. **"So this is Naruto is it…"**

"We could have helped him," said Minato who was looking at Madara with an angry look.

Madara for his part simply sighed. "You should know that you're in control of your body right now. Now, I don't know why, but you are. As I'm sure that Hashirama was as well. So what he just did was by his own free will, meaning that he no longer wished to be a part of this."

Minato merely frowned at the Uchiha.

'Juubi…let's finish this…'

The Juubi didn't reply.

Turning his attention away from Madara, Minato looked down at Gamabunta. "We need to stop him now!"

Madara chuckled from his spot. "It's too late for that, Yondaime Hokage…."

Before Minato could ask him what he meant, Gamabunta did it for him.

**"Minato! In front of us!"**

Minato looked forward to see the Juubi charging one of its most powerful attacks yet again.

"Gamabunta, get us away from here!" screamed Minato.

**"It's too late!"** yelled Naruto as Juubi completed its attack.

**"Bijudama!"**

The attack, looking as if it were on steroid, was launched, and it reached their location too fast before they could avoid it. The tailed beast bomb hit dead on, causing a massive explosion, leaving a massive crater as a result with a big mushroom cloud as well. Another big part of the building where the kage meeting had taken place was caught in the blast as well.

That was what Kushina saw as she landed behind Naruto, having have had climbed the gigantic beast.

"You're late," said Naruto as he turned his head back to look at Kushina.

"That Mifune person was stronger than I anticipated," replied Kushina before looking where the explosion had taken place.

"It's over…." said Naruto as Kushina walked up to stand beside him on his left side.

"Not yet," commented Kushina as they looked at the crater as the cloud of both dust and smoke began to disappear and focused their attention to the center of the crater where a kneeling Madara stood and with his right side of his body having been taken out in the blast. Minato was laying on his back on Madara's side, only with his chest and head present. Both of their body parts were currently on the process of regenerating as well.

'He's persistent alright,' thought Naruto.

* * *

><p>Down below within a bunch of debris from the building came out a very annoyed looking Kabuto.<p>

'That Tsunade,' he thought, 'I'm on her side here….well for now at least. And now I have lost the Shodai as a result…' Kabuto then brought brought his hand back together into the ram seal. 'I have to get the rest into control….'

"You stop right there you bastard."

Turning his head to his right, he saw Tsunade who currently had a furious look on her face and was walking towards, promising pain with every step that she took.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," stated Tsunade.

A thud made them both look to Kabuto's left and in Tsunade's case, her right, to see an unconscious Yagura laying there and with Tobirama standing over him, having thrown him on the ground.

"Tsunade," said Tobirama with a surprise look.

"Uncle," responded Tsunade with wide eyes.

"That's quite enough," interrupted Kabuto before another annoying conversation could take place as he appeared behind Tobirama. "Now Tsunade, don't do anything stupid or else you'll have to fight your family member here."

Tsunade growled at that. "You coward! Hiding behind others and refusing to fight your own fights!"

Kabuto merely shrugged. "Call me what you want, but I'm not dying. I still have many things that I have to do."

**"Water Style: Homatsu!"**

All conscious individuals looked up to see a massive group of bubbles coming down towards both Tobirama and Kabuto courtesy of a very injured looking Utakata within a large bubble.

Kabuto looked at the incoming bubbles with an amused look. "What are these suppose to be?" he asked, not noticing how one of the bubbles trapped Yagura within it.

"They're suppose to do this," said Utakata as he snapped his fingers making all said bubbles explode all around both Tobirama and Kabuto.

'What a weird jutsu,' thought Tsunade as she watched this.

**"Water Style: Suiryudan!"**

Utakata scowled as the incoming water dragon made its way towards him.

'Rokubi….' thought Utakata.

Said bijuu didn't reply.

The water dragon was merely repelled thanks to the bubble that Utakata had surrounded himself with.

Looking towards where Kabuto and her uncle should be, Tsunade rushed at Kabuto who stood behind a crouching Tobirama once the smoke had cleared to show that they had not been harmed courtesy of Tobirama.

Seeing Tsunade, Tobirama was then in front of Kabuto as Tsunade was in front of him the next, sending a powerful punch at him. The end result was Tobirama flying back from the force.

'Sorry Uncle,' thought Tsunade before jumping upwards and aiming a high kick downward towards Kabuto.

**"Sen'ei Tajashu!"**

A large swarm of snakes came out of Kabuto's sleeve and towards Tsunade who scowled, having recognized Orochimaru's jutsu.

The snakes were all sent flying, courtesy of the force of Tsunade's kick, but it gave Kabuto enough time to jump away. Tsunade touched the ground with a big impact, sending rocks and boulders flying around as a result.

'I guess our partnership is over with,' thought Kabuto as he landed next to the sitting Tobirama as he held his head, looking at an enraged Tsunade that was standing within a newly formed small crater that she herself had just created.

'This is a surprise,' thought Utakata he watched this within his bubble shield, an unconscious Yagura lying within another one next to him.

But he wasn't going to question it. That would be stupid. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

* * *

><p>Madara jumped back just in time to dodge a lot of wooden spikes coming out of the ground. Minato though….he was impaled by multiple ones thanks to him still not being able to move since neither of his legs have been properly restored yet.<p>

'He can use Mokuton!' thought an alarmed Madara as he landed on the other side of the big crater, seeing it as a good enough distance from the gigantic bijuu for the moment.

"How can you use the Mokuton?" asked a shock Kushina from Naruto's side as she watched all of this.

"I would like to know that as well," said a normal looking Mito with no trace of any tears on her face as she landed on Naruto's right side, her phoenix being dispelled in the process. She saw Tsunade engaging Kabuto for the moment, so she would simply see how this fight would end.

**"I've copied it with my rinnegan,"** answered Naruto without turning to look at her.

'So quickly!' thought a highly surprised Mito. 'But that shouldn't be possible!'

Naruto then jumped off the Juubi's head once more, both Kushina and Mito following him. They all landed in front of Minato who was still laying there, wooden spikes still piercing what was left of his body which prevented him from regenerating.

"Kushina," said Minato with a surprise look. "What are you doing here?"

Kushina sent her husband a small smile. "What do you think?" she said to him.

Minato closed his eyes at that. "I see…so you're also part in this as well…"

"I am not sorry for doing what I'm doing," stated Kushina as she looked at him. "But I would actually like to properly thank you for having given me a happy life as well as a family in the past."

Minato opened his eyes and looked right back at her. "Please Kushina," he pleaded. "You know that this is wrong."

Kushina shook her head. "I'm sorry," she replied softly. "But I can't do that. This is what I have chosen."

"That's all to it father," said Naruto as he walked up towards Minato. "Like I have told you, it's too late for words."

Minato could only chuckle as he looked up at the snowy and dark cloud filled sky. 'Is this what my sacrifice caused?' he wondered to himself. 'Jiraiya-sensei….is there a 'Child of the Prophecy?'

He then turned to look at his side to see a kneeling Naruto. "This is the end, isn't it?" he asked, but he already pretty much knew the answer to that question.

"Yes it is," stated Naruto as he placed his hand on Minato's head. "Goodbye…father."

Minato simply smiled as Naruto ripped out his soul from his body and released it, just as he had done before with Hashirama.

'That leaves only Madara…' thought Naruto as looked to where a calm looking Madara stood.

"It's all over Madara," said Naruto as he stood up, both Kushina and Mito standing beside him. "Even with just releasing a fraction of the Juubi's power, you have lost."

'A fraction is it?' thought Madara with a small sigh and crossing his arms yet again. 'But I suppose this is where my role ends,' he thought to himself as he looked towards Naruto, his rinnegan meeting Naruto's once again.

The action caused his mind to remember a conversation that he had had with the Shinigami when he was still alive.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback: Start!<strong>

_**"Kuchiyose: Shinigami!"**_

_Madara couldn't help but let the proud smirk appear on his face as he felt a dark energy envelop his underground hideout._

_**"Uchiha Madara, I take it?"**_

_Madara chuckled as he looked at the dark robe wearing being of death. "You look a lot different then of what you are rumored to look like," commented Madara._

_**"That is because my appearance changes depending on what type of jutsu I have been summoned with,"**__ answered the Shinigami._

_Madara raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So is this your true form then?"_

_The Shinigami waved his free hand as if to dismiss the question that Madara had asked. __**"That is irrelevant."**_

_Madara chuckled again. "I suppose it is. Well, what happens now?"_

_**"Hmm? You're the one that has summoned me. So you tell me what you want."**_

_Madara raised an eyebrow again. "Aren't you going to take my soul in exchange for me having summoned you?"_

_The Shinigami chuckled at hearing that. __**"So it seems that you have yet to know how this jutsu works."**__ The Shinigami then shook his head. __**"To answer your question, no, I will not be taken your soul, no matter how much I actually want to do so."**_

_"Why?" asked a surprised Madara. "The Shiki Fujin-"_

_**"That is another jutsu," **__interrupted the Shinigami. __**"An imperfect one at that. The Uzumaki clan has always been interested in developing what seem to be godly fuinjutsu. The Shiki Fujin is but the early stage of wanting to trying to summon me without any consequences."**_

_'Like the fuinjutsu known only to the clan head,' thought Madara. 'Could that be the perfected version?'_

_**"But the rinnegan is a different matter entirely,"**__ continued the Shinigami. __**"This jutsu being the proof of that."**_

_"What do you mean?" asked Madara. "You're obviously not going to take my soul. Just what exactly does the rinnegan have to do with this?"_

_The Shinigami chuckled again. __**"Before that, how did you figure out this jutsu in the first place?"**_

_"I found the instructions hidden within an old temple during my travels," answered Madara._

_**'I see,'**__ thought the Shinigami. __**'So the kid must have hidden it there on purpose…'**_

_The Shinigami then continued. __**"You should know by now that that eye is not ordinary, only one person before you to have had it. Said person also being responsible for this."**_

_Madara's eyes widened partially. "You mean to tell me that the Rikudo Sennin made a deal with you?"_

_**"No, more like I made a deal with him."**_

_Madara raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment._

_**"But that is something for someone else to completely know about," **__continued the Shinigami._

_"Someone else?" repeated Madara._

_**"When you develop your rinnegan powers more, you will know what I mean,"**__ replied the Shinigami._

_"And? Why exactly is this person so special?" asked Madara._

_**"Hmm…."**__ hummed the Shinigami. __**"That is because he is the one that will change this rotten shinobi world, for better or for worse."**_

_"What?" said Madara with wide eyes, an act that he rarely partook in._

_**"You heard me,"**__ said the Shinigami with amusement clearly in his voice. __**"I know what you're plan is, Uchiha. But let me tell you that it will surely fail."**_

_"Let me guess, the one that will change this shinobi world will stop me from achieving it," guessed Madara with a sigh._

_**"Yes,"**__ answered the Shinigami._

_Well that plainly sucked. To know that your plan was doomed to fail before it even got started and by someone that most likely wasn't even born yet…yeah, it sucked alright._

_"So there is nothing that I can do about this?" asked Madara._

_**"Not with your current course of action," **__replied the Shinigami._

_"What is that suppose to mean?" asked Madara._

_The Shinigami simply chuckled once more. __**"It should be obvious. You must also know by now that this world is a rotten one. Filled with nothing more than deceit and lies. What you're trying to do is nothing more than create another lie. That is your Tsuki no Me. A lie."**_

_Madara hmph'ed at that. "That's the only way that this world can be saved. The only way that humanity can glimpse at what true peace is."_

_**"Heh…that's if you take the easy way. Peace can be achieved through many ways, even by destruction."**_

_Understanding began to hit Madara at that. 'I see….' he thought before a thought crossed his mind. "Why are you even interested in something like this? You're the god of death after all."_

_The Shinigami let out a laugh at before he started to disappear. __**"Who knows? But I'll be interested to know what you will do, Uchiha Madara. And I'll also overlook you summoning me this time without a payment. Next time you do though, it better be for something."**_

_"Who is the one that is suppose to stop me…?" asked Madara._

_**"He will be….an Uzumaki."**_

_**Flashback: End!**_

* * *

><p>Madara focused solely on Naruto before he looked at up at the sky.<p>

'Is this the end of my role….?' he wondered to himself before laughter erupted throughout the entire area, stopping them all.

Naruto could only sigh in irritation, knowing who the laughter belonged to. 'Not this guy…'

_**"My my, isn't this a party!"**_

Up on top of the Juubi's head, stood none other than Dark Naruto, his famous dark smirk on his face as he looked at his other self with a crazed grin on his face.

Both Narutos locked eyes, one annoyed and the other giddy.

* * *

><p><strong>I don't know why, but I'm not feeling it with this chapter as I had with the previous ones. I really don't know why that is, just that it is. Maybe it was the action or something.<strong>

**But no matter how much I looked at it, I couldn't see any other way to write this chapter, so here it is…so all of you can decide.**

**So yeah, as you can see a lot of things have happened as well as another twist…and for some reason I'm not all pumped up for it. You got to see a more of Mito's abilities as well as her having her own personal summoning as well. Also more of what Madara actually wants has been to shown here. Some of you probably already know the answer to that as well as Naruto's 'grand motive' for doing this. Really, it's not that grand.**

**Well there is one consolation for me….more and more haters. Well actually, it's just like two. But reading those type of comments actually amuse me. Don't know why, but they do. Well except for the last one which makes me ask all of you….is this not a Naruto centric fic?**

**Cause if it's not, then….well I don't know.**

**And well, that's it for me. Tell me what you thought although I'm not expecting much since even I'm not too excited about this chapter. So once again, I'll just leave it up to you and do answer my question if you can or want to.**

**Till next time.**


	44. The Kage Summit pt VI

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<br>_**"Hmm…"**_**- Dark Naruto  
><strong>**_"Hmm…"_******- Flashback******

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 43:<br>The Kage Summit pt. VI**

It was extremely hard for something to truly annoy Naruto at this point. Seriously, besides the stubbornness that his father had had, there was nothing else. Things had just become that much in favor for him. All that was needed was to march straight into Konoha and kill everyone there. Well that, and the issue with Kabuto.

That annoying snake or reincarnation of the most annoying snake just wouldn't die. Not only that, but said annoyance also had the balls to have had summoned several of the strongest shinobis in the history of the shinobi, if not the strongest besides the Rikudo Sennin.

But that would be taken care of in due time as well. Once business was concluded here. And said business also included the biggest annoyance that Naruto had ever had to come across to as of yet. And that was himself.

Looking straight at his 'dark' counterpart's eager face made Naruto even more annoyed. The bastard just wouldn't mind his own business.

But another part of Naruto was mentally kicking himself for not having see this outcome, having already figured out as to how exactly Dark Naruto had gotten free. His eagerness to completely annihilate Madara and the rest seemed to have had blocked out his rational thoughts of thinking through something before he did it, another skill that Kurama had drilled into him during their 'training trip.' The same thing had happened when he had killed that other squad leader when he had resurrected his mother back at that Oto base when he had been in Konoha.

'And now I'm going to have to pay the price,' thought Naruto with an internal sigh.

_**"What's this?" **_said Dark Naruto from on top of the Juubi's head, a mocking sad tone present within his voice. _**"No 'hello?' No 'how are you?' Really, that's just hurtful…."**_

"You," began Naruto as he looked at Dark Naruto, "just what exactly do you plan to accomplish by being here?"

Dark Naruto chuckled as he took a sitting position on top of the Juubi's head, looking around the destroyed area within the gigantic crater. _**"Well, I had planned to cause a bit of damage myself, but it seems that you got that part covered up, don't you?"**_

Dark Naruto clapped as he turned his attention to Naruto, a smirk on his face. _**"I must say, I am proud of you. When I first came into existence, I never would have thought that you would ever be capable of doing something like this! Karma really is a bitch…."**_

Dark Naruto then focused his gaze towards Kushina who was standing beside Naruto with a surprised look, bringing one of his hands upwards, giving said redhead a thumbs up. _**"I must say that I quite like that new look of yours, Kushina-chan! Way better than that dress you first wore."**_

Before Kushina could respond to his 'compliment,' Dark Naruto then focused his attention to Mito. _**"And you…well you're also very hot as well, even though you're wearing that extremely elaborate kimono of yours which is not meant to be used for a fight such as this. But then again…you're hot."**_

"Why thank you for that," said Mito with obvious sarcasm present in her voice. "That sure has made my day."

Dark Naruto chuckled at that. _**"Don't mention it."**_

Finally he refocused on Naruto again, dismissing Madara for the moment. _**"I'm sure that you must not like me interrupting your shining moment, but I doubt such a golden opportunity such as this would ever appear again to me in a silver platter."**_

Naruto simply hmph'ed at that. "You mean me using the Juubi's power."

_**"Bingo!"**_ said Dark Naruto with another clap. _**"Really, if you already knew that you using the Juubi's power would cause me to become free, then why did you still do it? Wait don't tell me…."**_ Dark Naruto wiped an imaginary tear from one of his eyes_**, "you actually wanted for me to become free! Why, I must thank you!"**_

"Don't flatter yourself," retorted Naruto. "The thought simply escaped me because-"

_**"Because you were having too much fun,"**_ finished Dark Naruto with a smirk. _**"Well, I can't say that I blame you. Fighting the likes of the Shodai Hokage is as unlikely as Orochimaru actually saying that he loves Konoha! Not to mention having a rematch with our dear daddy. And you…."**_

Dark Naruto looked at Madara for the first time. _**"Uchiha Madara…well I never thought that I would say this, but thank you!"**_

Madara, who still had his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow at hearing that. "For what?" he asked.

Dark Naruto simply pointed at him. _**"Because if it weren't for you, I would never have been in the position that I currently am! And that is, of course, being better than any of you!"**_

Dark Naruto then stood up, another smirk forming on his face as he turned his attention to a rather calm looking Naruto. _**"And now it's you and me…I don't know why, but I have this terrible itch that just won't go away unless I kill you."**_

"Oh?" said Naruto. "And just what makes you think that you can kill me?"

Dark Naruto merely pointed below him, mainly to the bijuu that he currently stood on. _**"Why, with the Juubi of course."**_

'I thought as much,' thought Naruto as his wind armor appeared around him once more.

The next moment, he was in front of his dark counterpart, a Rasengan in hand and heading straight towards Dark Naruto. His Rasengan was blocked by a similar Rasengan, except that it was pure black.

Both Naruto and Dark Naruto were pushed back, each coming to a stop on opposite ends of the Juubi's head.

Naruto could only scowl briefly as he looked at Dark Naruto who was also completely surrounded within a wind armor, except that the wind was pure black as well.

_**"Well, I must say that I quite like the power that I now have,"**_ commenter Dark Naruto as he brought his right hand upwards towards his eyes. _**"It will be just enough to destroy this world…"**_

Naruto smirked at that while shaking his head. "So that's what you're up to? I shouldn't really be surprised. You're just another idiot trying to cause massive destruction."

Dark Naruto chuckled in return as he turned his focused to Naruto, lowering his hand. _**"And what exactly do you call yourself?"**_

Naruto simply shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't really care. But I'm not stupid enough to try to destroy the planet that we live on though. That would just be stupid. It would be like you trying to kill your own self."

_**"And what if that's what I'm trying to do?"**_ countered Dark Naruto with narrowed eyes. _**"My existence…just why exactly was I born? To just simply hide in the shadows while you take all the credit?"**_

'This is just like with Tobi,' thought Naruto as he remembered what Obito had told them. Tobi had been resentful at Obito for being, well Obito. Tobi had just felt like a cheap imitation. Add to the fact that Madara himself had preferred Obito. Well, to put it simply, it must have driven Tobi over the edge.

_**"I will kill you right here and now,"**_ stated Dark Naruto as he looked at his other self with anger present in his eyes.

Naruto could only laugh out loud at the current situation. It was just simply too freaking hilarious to him. He never expected for the same thing to happen to him that had happened with Obito. Although he wouldn't make the same mistake as Obito had.

"I can say the same thing to you," replied Naruto.

_**"Once you're out of the picture, the Juubi will be mine to control." **_Dark Naruto smirked here. _**"The same could be said to you. As of right now, you don't have complete control of the Juubi either thanks to me."**_

Now that was true. Right now Naruto couldn't control the Juubi at all, both himself and his other self having a hold on it for the moment.

'That won't last though…' thought Naruto as he was in front of Dark Naruto the next moment, trying to push him back with pure wind power, Dark Naruto doing the exact same thing.

Dark Naruto laughed, almost sounding crazy as they both tried to push the other back. _**"I've already told you this! You can't beat me!"**_

Naruto smirked in response. "But you've forgotten something. It's true that I don't have the Juubi right now, but I've got someone else, something that you don't."

Dark Naruto's eyes widened in both anger and understanding as red chakra began to surround Naruto, giving the wind armor around him a crimson color to it.

_**"NO!"**_ screamed Dark Naruto as he was sent flying back to the crater below with a big impact.

Naruto for his part merely jumped down off the Juubi's head as said bijuu disappeared in a big puff of smoke.

**"You…"** said the Juubi from within Naruto's mind.

'You're too much of a risk for me to use you right now,' simply stated Naruto as he pushed the Juubi's consciousness further down into his subconscious.

**"You better watch yourself, Uzumaki…."** warned the Juubi before its voice disappeared along with its entire presence before being replaced by an all too familiar one.

**"Finally!"** said Kurama as his consciousness took the Juubi's spot. **"It's about damn time that you finished with all the crap that's taking…."** Kurama stopped talking as he observed the situation at hand as Naruto landed on the ground.

**"Nevermind…."**

"How can he be out?" questioned Kushina as she, along with both Mito and Madara, watched everything that was happening.

"It's clearly obvious," responded Madara as he watched everything with a calm look, his arms still being crossed together. "I'm guessing that this is a dark entity from with Naruto's subconscious, correct?"

Kushina simply nodded, putting aside the fact that Madara was their 'enemy' for the moment.

"The Juubi is composed entirely of dark energy," continued Madara with his explanation, "so this dark entity merely hitched a ride when Naruto released the Juubi's power. Combined with the fact that the rinnegan is capable of creating new life with the **Yin-Yang release** as well as that the dark entity is composed entirely of just chakra….well, it's just like the formation of the other bijuus that the Rikudo Sennin did years ago except that instead of creating the bijuus, the dark entity simply created a body for himself."

'I see…' thought Kushina, understanding.

"You…" said Mito while looking at Madara, "you didn't know that this was going to happen, did you?"

Madara didn't respond to that as he focused entirely on both Naruto and Dark Naruto who was beginning to get back up from within a small crater that he had created when he had impacted in the ground.

'This is exactly what happened with Obito,' thought Madara as he remembered that particular incident. 'But something tells me that this was not the Shinigami's doing….'

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback: Start!<strong>

_"What is this!?"_

_Madara could only look at the two unconscious individuals on the floor with both surprised and a small amount of anger. He had only asked for that Obito boy, not whoever this other Uchiha was!_

_The Shinigami chuckled as he glanced at both Obito and the other unconscious being next to him. __**"Exactly what you have asked me for except with some….added bonus."**_

_"Bonus?" repeated Madara with a raised eyebrow before shaking his head. "Just who is this?" he asked, pointing to the other passed out boy next to Obito._

_**"That's Uchiha Obito,"**__ answered the Shinigami before doing a small shrug. __**"Well…not entirely of course."**_

_"What is that suppose to mean?" asked Madara with narrowed eyes._

_**"It's the combination of all of Uchiha Obito's dark emotions,"**__ elaborated the Shinigami while looking at the passed out Obito. __**"I'm not entirely sure if he actually felt it, but extremely potent and dark thoughts began to take root within his soul at the fact that he was going to die just because of some stupid war. And he blamed it all on the Shinobi world."**__ The Shinigami then pointed his staff to the the boy next to Obito. __**"That is him. Of course, it's imperfect. Obito died before the dark thoughts could take a hold of him completely and thus, we have this! Although it seems that the process of them being separated has caused them to lose consciousness…."**_

_Another being made his presence known._

_"Hahaha!" laughed the original White Zetsu as he stood beside Madara. "Would you look at this! It's surprising alright!"_

_Madara could only sigh in slight annoyance at hearing White Zetsu. 'His espionage is top notch, no doubt about that,' thought Madara. 'But he's even worse than Hashirama was at some times….no, all the time.'_

_White Zetsu walked up to kneel in front of Obito's 'other self.' "Oooohhh. Would you look at this! He's missing a half of his body just like me!" White Zetsu grinned at this. "I think that me and him are going to be good friends!"_

_Madara merely turned to look at the amused Shinigami with a questioning look._

_Seeing Madara's look, the Shinigami simply shrugged again. __**"I told you already. It's imperfect."**_

_"But why would you create something like this?" asked Madara._

_The Shinigami chuckled again. __**"To my amusement as well as yours."**_

_"What?" said Madara with another raised eyebrow._

_**"Like I've told you, these dark emotions feel extreme resentment towards the Shinobi World. I'm sure that you must know how to put that to good use…."**_

_Madara was quite for a few moments before chuckling. "I see…" But then another question formed within Madara. "You're the god of death, are you not?"_

_The Shinigami simply nodded._

_"Then how come you actually formed life?" asked Madara. After all, the god of death is not suppose to create life but to simply take it, plain and simple. But here he was, doing the exact opposite._

_**"These emotions were in my realm,"**__ answered the Shinigami calmly. __**"And when that happens, they are mine to do as I please with. No one else can interfere with that."**_

_"Even to give it a life of its own?" questioned Madara._

_The Shinigami chuckled once more as he started to disappear. __**"Yes. You've said it yourself. I'm the god of death. There are only a few things that I cannot do. I do hope that you put this into good use, Madara…."**_

_With that, the Shinigami disappeared completely._

_Madara sighed before turning to look at both still unconscious individuals._

_"What will you do with them?" asked White Zetsu with a small grin._

_"Why, put them to good use," responded Madara, bringing one hand up to touch his face. "It won't be long before I won't be able to move freely as I do now. Thanks to Hashirama's cells and the rinnegan I've been able to stay young as long as I have, but that is not going to last much longer."_

_White Zetsu chuckled as Madara made his way out of the underground hideout. "So you're going to go do it then."_

_Madara merely nodded as he continued to walk. "Yes. I doubt that we'll be able to find another Uzumaki with both the right age and capability of handling the rinnegan. This will also prove to be a good challenge for the future Uzumaki that is said to be the one to change this cursed world…."_

_"And these two?" asked White Zetsu as he glanced at both Obito and his other self._

_"Give them new clothes as well as bandage up that clone of Obito's and make sure that they don't leave the hideout until I return, is that clear?"_

_White Zetsu simply nodded at Madara's back._

_'This will certainly make the game more entertaining,' thought Madara with a small smirk as he made his way out of the hideout and towards Ame._

**Flashback: End!**

* * *

><p>'It seems that the game has gotten even more entertaining though,' thought Madara.<p>

Dark Naruto could only scowl as he looked at Naruto. _**"You….I won't be defeated by you!"**_

Naruto for his part could only chuckle in amusement as he looked at his dark self. "You're nothing but bitter resentment, aren't you?"

Dark Naruto scowled again as he charged at the amused Naruto, disappearing out of sight and reappearing in front of Naruto with his fist brought forward, only for it to be block by Naruto's.

"This will be the end of you…" stated Naruto before they both disappeared, one in a black flash and the other in a red one.

'They're fast!' thought Kushina as she watched the black and red blurs disappear and reappear again and again.

Mito simply watched with an impassive look.

'It seems that I've been forgotten for the moment,' thought Madara with a small smirk, 'but I guess that it works for my favor in the end. I now get to watch this with no annoying interruptions….'

* * *

><p><strong>"Water Style: Suijinheki!"<strong>

Tsunade could only scowl in anger as she clashed with the wall of water, courtesy of her granduncle.

'I forgot how strong he is,' thought Tsunade as she landed a few feet away from Tobirama, completely drenched in water but not really caring about that particular fact at the moment.

"You sure have grown Tsunade," said Tobirama calmly. "But what are you doing here?"

"This is the Land of Iron where the kage meeting was taking place before all of this happened," answered Tsunade. "I'm sure that I don't need to tell you anything besides that."

Tobirama's eyes widened partially at hearing that. "I see….so you became Hokage then…"

"Enough of this," interrupted Kabuto from behind Tobirama. "Now Nidaime, kill her."

Tsunade took a step back as Tobirama charged at her. 'Of course he doesn't have to worry too much about my punches since he can't die right now,' thought Tsunade as she jumped upward just before Tobirama reached her. Now she was hoping more than ever that she knew a fuinjutsu technique that could stop this just like her grandmother did.

'But I guess that I'll have to do with what I've got for now,' she thought as she brought one of her legs upwards.

**"Tsutenkyaku!"**

Tobirama could only jump backwards at the last second, lest he become a pile of ash as Tsunade brought her falling axe kick on the ground, creating a big crater as a result.

'She has mastered her chakra extremely well,' thought Tobirama as he landed.

'Interesting,' thought Utakata from within his bubble as he watched all of this.

"We gotta help her."

Utakata turned to look at a kneeling Yagura within another bubble beside him.

"And why should we?" asked Utakata with a raised eyebrow. "She's the enemy, isn't she?"

Yagura shook his head. "She's not our most pressing enemy right now. That belongs to that Kabuto person down there," he said, looking straight at Kabuto who was watching Tsunade dodge Tobirama's strikes from a kunai, lest her be stab.

"It's what Naruto would want us to do," stated Yagura.

Utakata merely sighed at that. 'Oi, Rokubi, do you feel like-'

**"Yes,"** answered the bijuu without any hesitation.

Utakata could only sigh again before turing to look at Yagura. "Can you still-"

"Yes," answered Yagura, making one of Utakata's eyebrows twitch in annoyance. Why couldn't anyone let him finish his questions dammit!?

"Fine then," said Utakata in irritation as bubbles began to surround him.

Yagura smirked lightly before he too started to transform into his own bijuu.

**"Water Style: Suishoha!"**

Tsunade could only look at the big spiraling vortex of water that was coming straight at her with narrowed eyes. Now, how to dodge this?

She didn't have to dwell on it too much as a giant three tailed turtled landed right in front of her, blocking the technique.

"You again," said Tobirama calmly in midair, having to have to do this to dodge the bijuu lest he be squat, Kabuto right behind him as well.

'More annoyances,' thought Kabuto with narrowed eyes.

**"Sansan!"**

'What!' thought Kabuto as he and Tobirama were covered in a dense gas of acid the next moment, courtesy of a transformed Utakata who stood beside the transformed Yagura.

'The Sanbi and the Rokubi,' thought Tsunade from behind with wide eyes. Now this was unexpected.

As the gas dispersed, one disfigured Tobirama impacted on the ground with a loud thud, parts of his body disintegrated as a result of coming into contact with the acid gas.

Kabuto for his part simply landed on the ground behind the lying Tobirama, unharmed.

'How?' thought Tsunade as she appeared in front of both the Sanbi and the Rokubi.

She then noticed what appeared to be the skin of Kabuto landing softy in front of said individual.

'I see…' thought Tsunade. 'The substitution jutsu that Orochimaru created….'

'They're going to be a problem,' thought Kabuto as he looked at the two bijuu behind Tsunade. He then brought his hands together, intent on summoning more dead shinobi.

Tsunade's eyes widened at this, but before she could act, someone beat her to it. Feeling a great amount of pressure behind her, she turned her head back to see both the Sanbi and the Rokubi preparing a combined tailed beast ball.

'I see…' thought Tsunade with a smirk as she turned her head forward to look at Kabuto. 'Dodge this, you bastard….'

**"BIJUDAMA!"**

Kabuto's eyes could only widen as he looked at the incoming tailed beast ball.

Tobirama for his part…well, he just laid there.

* * *

><p><em><strong>"I will kill you!"<strong>_

"Keep telling yourself that!"

Those were the shouts that were heard as both Naruto and Dark Naruto continued to clash with each other, sword against kunai, as they each appeared one moment and were gone the next, only for them to appear in another spot the next and so on.

"This is endless!" exclaimed Kushina with wide eyes as she watched all of this.

Mito for her part had her attention elsewhere to where an explosion had just taken place and thanks to her sensing abilities, she could tell what was happening.

'It seems that Kabuto is on the defensive now,' thought Mito with a small smirk before focusing on the fight here. It was a big risk to not go over there herself to finish things off, but her curiosity was just too big for her to ignore about seeing how things would go here. Besides, with the way things were looking over there, it was more than likely that Kabuto would lose.

Both Narutos suddenly stopped a few feet away from the other, both panting a bit as well.

'This really does look like a stalemate,' thought Naruto, his wind armor still active as he looked at his other self.

**"Not if you use my chakra,"** responded Kurama within his mind.

'I don't want to just rely on your chakra, Kurama,' responded Naruto.

Kurama merely hmph'ed at that but didn't reply.

Dark Naruto was currently scowling at the moment. If only he hadn't been surprised by Naruto using Kurama's chakra, he would still have the upper hand. But now the Juubi was completely back inside Naruto where he could no longer do something about it.

_**'Damn you, Kyuubi,'**_ thought Dark Naruto in anger. In the past, said bijuu would have sided with him. But it seemed that that was no longer the case.

Both Narutos were then inhaling, preparing to use ninjutsu now.

**"Fire Style: Goenkyu!"**

Seeing the move, Madara was immediately on the move, knowing what was going to happen. Seeing this, both Mito and Kushina decided to follow Madara's example.

Both Narutos' exhaled a meteor sized fireball, both attacks clashing with each other. The end result was a big ass explosion, creating another big crater within the already existing gigantic one.

* * *

><p>"Just what's going over there!?" screamed Suigetsu with wide eyes as he watched the gigantic explosion that was taking place.<p>

"The other extremely dark chakra has disappeared," said Karin, both of her hands together in the ram seal.

'Well no shit,' thought Mikoto with a slight roll of her eyes as she, along with the rest, had watched the Juubi disappear.

"But now another dark chakra has appeared, almost identical to that of that blond guy, Naruto," continued Karin.

Now this caught Mikoto's attention, as well as Sasuke's.

"What do you mean by that?" questioned Sasuke as he glanced at the glasses wearing redhead.

Karin could only shake her head. "I don't get it myself, but they're currently fighting each other, the two having been responsible for those attacks."

**"Aren't you going to join?"**

Karin jumped in the air with an 'eep!' as both Black and White Zetsu rose from the ground beside Mikoto, the two having joined together again.

'This guy really is creepy….' thought Suigetsu with a twitching eyebrow.

Sasuke simply looked at his mother.

Mikoto for her part glanced at Zetsu for a moment before turing her attention back to the already disappearing cloud of dust.

"What's happening?" she simply asked.

White Zetsu chuckled. "Our pal Kabuto was up to his old tricks, that's what. He revived all the previous Hokages along with both Uchiha Izuna and Uchiha Madara."

That caused a massive wave of shock to hit the group, including both Mikoto and Sasuke.

"And Naruto?" asked Mikoto, narrowing her eyes.

**"He's already defeated all of them besides Madara and the Nidaime,"** answered Black Zetsu.

Mikoto smirked lightly at hearing that, as well as a wave of arousal to hit her at knowing that Naruto was that strong.

Sasuke's hands clenched into fists at hearing this piece of information. 'Naruto….'

He was jealous, plain and simple. He would admit to that.

**"Of course if you want to know what's currently happening now, then I suggest that you go,"** said Black Zetsu as he and White Zetsu started to sink into the ground.

"We're going," said Mikoto after Zetsu had completely disappeared.

Karin waved her hands in protest at hearing this. "But you just said that we should stay back!"

Mikoto merely glanced back at the redhead with an unreadable expression on her face that still managed to scare Karin. "That was when that thing from before was present there. But now that it isn't, there's nothing to worry about."

With that, Mikoto began to run forward towards where the battle was taking place, both Sasuke and Suigetsu immediately following her lead.

Seeing no other alternative, Karin began to follow them.

* * *

><p>Both Narutos could only chuckle as they both stood in the center of their respective attacks after they had disappeared.<p>

_**"Not bad for a fake,"**_ commented Dark Naruto as he looked at Naruto.

"I could say the same to you," replied Naruto.

_**"It's obvious that we're evenly match,"**_ stated Dark Naruto as he took a single step forward. _**"How do you propose that we settle this?"**_

Naruto could only stare at his 'dark' counterpart in silence for a moment. "I don't even know why we're even fighting in the first place," said Naruto before stopping himself. "Wait, yes I do. It's because you want to kill me."

Dark Naruto simply tilted his head. _**"I'll admit it, I don't dislike you as much as I first did when I was first born within you. But I still don't like you. Even when we did work together in the past, that was only to accomplish my own end. But now, there is no need for that. You're my only true obstacle from teaching this pathetic world how truly worthless it is."**_

Naruto could only chuckle. "Seriously, you're just like another copy of Tobi! Except that instead of using a genjutsu to control the world, you actually want to destroy all of it, including yourself."

_**"Answer me this then-what exactly do you plan on doing once you have taken your revenge on Konoha for what they did to us?"**_

Naruto shrugged. "Honestly? I have no clue. But when the time comes, when I'm watching that village burn to the ground, I'm sure that it'll come to me."

Naruto then took a step forward as well. "I will tell you this though, I would actually like to keep living in this world when it is all said and done."

Dark Naruto chuckled. _**"Really? Won't you miss all of this? All of this fighting? All the action? I know that you will. Because I would too. Which is why it's meaningless to keep living in boredom for the rest of your life."**_

"You may be right about that," replied Naruto. "But like I said, I'll come to it when the time comes. For now, removing all obstacles from achieving my goal is where my complete focus lies in. After all, if I wasn't completely focus on what I'm doing now, I would be doom to failure from the start and wouldn't even have to worry about what the future would be."

Dark Naruto didn't respond to that. Instead he got ready to charge at Naruto again.

Seeing this, Naruto also got ready.

**"If you keep doing this, it will never end until you're both passed out! And considering your stamina, who knows how long it would take for that to happen…."**

'Then what exactly do you propose?' asked Naruto while focusing on Dark Naruto at the same time.

**"Do something that he would never expect,"** stated Kurama with a small smirk.

Naruto was about to ask what he meant, before it hit him as well.

With that thought, Naruto was immediately on the move, heading straight towards Dark Naruto at great speed.

Dark Naruto for his part smirked before doing the same thing.

_**"It's useless!"**_ screamed Dark Naruto as they were both a few inches part from the other, each having a Rasengan in hand.

Dark Naruto brought his own Dark Rasengan forward, expecting for Naruto to do the same. So imagine his surprise that instead of that happening, Naruto didn't even try to block or dodge Dark Naruto's attack.

_**'What!'**_ thought Dark Naruto in shock as his Dark Rasengan impacted with Naruto's unprotected form, his wind armor also having been deactivated at the last second.

'Kurama, now!' screamed Naruto within his mind as he was pushed back in great force thanks to the attack from Dark Naruto.

"AAAHHH!" screamed Naruto as he came to a stop a good distance away, landing on his back.

_**'What's going on here?'**_ wondered Dark Naruto as he cautiously walked up towards Naruto's downed form, his own wind armor deactivating for the moment. He came to a stop in front of Naruto's unmoving form, aware that this might be a trap. After awhile, nothing happened. Seeing this, Dark Naruto relaxed just for a bit.

And it caused him a lot. Turning his head down, he looked with anger as tendrils of wood shot out of the ground and wrapped tightly around him.

_**'I knew it was a trick!'**_ screamed Dark Naruto within his mind as he intended to destroy the wood.

But he wasn't fast enough as Naruto was in front of him before he could do anything, his own Rasengan in hand.

**"Rasengan!"**

It was Dark Naruto's turn to grunt in pain as he flew back from the attack, landing on his own back. He wasn't able to try to get up as Naruto was upon him the next moment again, wind armor activated as he brought his sword down upon Dark Naruto, stabbing said dark entity in the gut.

_**"You…."**_ said Dark Naruto while blood was coming out of his mouth.

"Fast regenerative powers," said Naruto with a smirk. "One of the perks of being a jinchuriki."

_**"Fucking Kyuubi!" **_screamed Dark Naruto in anger.

Kurama snorted from within Naruto's mind. **"I miss you too, dumbass…."** he said, not that Dark Naruto could hear what he had just said.

"You no longer have this power," stated Naruto as he intended to kill Dark Naruto.

Placing a his left foot on Dark Naruto's stomach, he retracted his sword from Dark Naruto's gut, making Dark Naruto grunt in pain again. Naruto then brought his sword upward, intent on slicing Dark Naruto's head off.

"This is the end for you," said Naruto with no remorse present in his voice.

_**"Fuck you!"**_ was Dark Naruto's response.

Naruto then brought his sword down, but at the last moment, black energy began to ooze out of Dark Naruto's body, causing Naruto jump back.

'What is this!' thought Naruto as he landed.

**"It's the Juubi's chakra,"** answered Kurama with narrowed eyes. **"Well, a small portion, but it's still lethal."**

Naruto's hands clenched at that fact.

Dark Naruto laughed before he disappeared in a dark flash, leaving no trace that he was ever there besides the small puddle of blood.

"SON OF A BITCH!" screamed Naruto in anger.

"It's over, is it."

Naruto looked behind him to see Madara calmly walking towards him.

Naruto growled at him. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now."

Madara stopped a few feet away from him. "Is that so? Well, I really don't feel like fighting you any longer either. I've seen what I have to see."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "You know, all of this talking in mystery is kind of getting old by now. Just say what you want to say and be done with it already."

Madara chuckled. "Well, I don't have all the answers either, if that's what you mean."

Naruto could only stare at Madara blankly before looking up at the cloudy sky. "Who has all the answers then!" he shouted.

Madara shrugged and was about to answer before he held his head, pain starting to form within it. 'What is this?' he thought to himself. 'I already broke free from Kabuto's control!'

'It must be the Edo Tensei,' thought Naruto as he watch Madara hold his head and readied himself.

Kurama narrowed his eyes. **"That's something that's been bugging me. For awhile now, it seemed that Madara was in complete control of himself. But something tells me that that's no longer the case now…."**

'Kabuto must have figured out something,' thought Naruto as a coffin appeared behind Madara.

**"Maybe…."** muttered Kurama, but felt that there was something else to it.

Naruto merely watched as Madara was engulfed within the coffin, the opening of the coffin closed before disappearing.

Naruto turned to look towards where the building where the kage meeting had taken place, mainly the part where the Juubi had destroyed it.

'I need to find Kabuto then….'

* * *

><p>Tsunade growled as she looked around the destroyed area, seeing no trace of either Kabuto or her granduncle.<p>

'Where did that bastard go?' she thought to herself.

Looking behind her, she saw that neither Yagura or Utakata were there either, both having left already as well.

'The only thing that I can do now is to find Kakashi and retreat for now,' thought Tsunade as she made her way towards the building, or what was left of it.

She could deal with her grandmother, Kabuto, and anybody else later. But not right now. She needed to be more prepared.

* * *

><p>Kabuto was currently on the run, hopping from snowy tree branch to the next.<p>

After having hidden himself within a large summoning snake at the last moment before the attack from the tailed beasts' had reached him, he immediately retreated. He was in no condition to fight at the moment. He had thought that the combined force of Madara and his brother alongside the rest of the Hokages would have been more than enough to take care of Naruto, but it seemed that he had been greatly mistaken.

Not only that, but he lost four of his best revived shinobi within his arsenal. Thankfully he still had Madara. That drew a big question from Kabuto though. Just how in the hell had he managed to get Madara back in control?

Kabuto honestly didn't know the answer to that question. One part of him was just saying that it didn't matter. Just to be glad that it had happened. But his rational and 'scientific' mind was screaming to know how. Something told him that it had to do with the fuinjutsu that he had used to bring them all back in the first place.

But even with Madara back into his hands, Kabuto knew that it still wouldn't be enough to deal with Naruto at this point. He needed to figure out something else.

He was too engrossed in his thoughts that he _almost _didn't notice the kunai that was thrown to his head. Kabuto merely tilted his head to the side to dodge the kunai before stopping his branch hopping.

Looking to his right, he saw Dark Naruto leaning on a tree for support, holding his stomach lest he bleed to death.

Kabuto narrowed his eyes at him. "You…."

Dark Naruto scowled at him. _**"No time for questions right now. Just get me some medical treatment, and I swear to you that you'll get everything that you want."**_

'Does he think that I'm a fool?' thought Kabuto before mentally smirking. 'Although, I won't have a better opportunity than this. Not to mention the fact that I will most certainly die if I do this alone. There's always a way to turn things to your advantage.'

Kabuto readjusted his glasses. "Alright then. Come with me," said Kabuto with a small grin.

It took all of Dark Naruto's willpower to not kill the bastard in front of him.

* * *

><p>"So they're gone then," said Mito as she walked beside Naruto along with Kushina, stopping in front of the entrance of the building.<p>

Naruto could only nod. "Yeah. It seems that our work here is done for now."

"What are we going to do now?" asked Kushina as she looked around.

"We need to regroup," answered Naruto while looking up at the sky again. "This was only the beginning of things. The real war starts here now."

All three Uzumakis looked behind them to see Mikoto, Sasuke, and the rest running straight towards them at a great speed.

"It seems that they succeeded then," stated Mito with a small smile.

'I was planning on using that scroll to ruin Danzo completely, but with how things turned out, it's pointless now,' thought Naruto.

**"Don't dismiss it just yet, brat. There might be something else within it that could turn out to be useful. You never know,"** advised Kurama with a small chuckle.

'You're right,' said Naruto.

"It seems that things have ended here," said Mikoto as she stopped in front of them, the rest behind her.

Naruto simply nodded as he faced the entrance of the building, missing the look that Mikoto was giving him. But Kushina didn't. And neither did Sasuke.

"Let's go. We have to get everyone else before leaving here," stated Naruto as he and rest walked into what was left of the building.

'Yes,' thought Naruto, 'this is but the beginning….'

* * *

><p>In Konoha, something else was currently taking place as well.<p>

Shikaku could only sigh in slight frustration at what the Yamanaka in front of him was telling him.

"So you're telling me that it's impossible to look into Hiashi's brain to see his memories?" asked Shikaku while holding his forehead.

He, along with Ibiki and Anko and several anbu members along with a random Yamanaka, was currently within a hospital room with only selected individuals being able to get access into the room. And in the center of the room laid one Hyuuga Hiashi in an operating table.

The Yamanaka simply shook his head. "It's not that it's impossible, just that Inoichi-sama was the only one that could do it the most efficiently out of anyone of us from the clan. I can try, but I can't guarantee what will happen…"

"We need to take the risk," said Ibiki from his spot next to one of the walls.

"Why are you two so sure that Naruto wasn't the one that killed him for the hell of it?" asked Cat, aka Yugao, with her arms crossed under her breasts.

"Because risking coming into the village just to kill Hiashi seems farfetched," answered Shukaku.

"Or that it's just part of something bigger," added Ibiki.

"I see…." muttered Yugao, not saying anything else.

Anko, who was leaning on one of the walls opposite of Ibiki, merely stayed silent, watching everything unfold in front of her.

"Do it," said Shukaku to the Yamanaka clan member.

Said Yamanaka simply nodded as he placed one of his hands on Hiashi's head, concentrating. Tense silence was what followed afterwards.

A few minutes later, the Yamanaka member was suddenly on the floor, screaming in pain.

Every other person on the room was on guard as they watched the Yamanaka member continue to scream in pain on the floor.

"What is this!?" said Ibiki with wide eyes.

Shukaku turned his attention to Hiashi's corpse, only to see that the insides of Hiashi's head all coming out from both nose nostrils, mouth, and both ears.

'Sabotage,' thought Shukaku with narrowed eyes.

No one noticed the smirk that was currently present on Anko's face as she watched all of this.

* * *

><p><strong>Well that's another chapter and the end to all the crap that happened at the Kage Summit.<strong>

**What can I say….meh, I've got nothing. Just hope you enjoyed it as well as how things turned out. And like Naruto said, this is just the beginning.**

**In case anyone is wondering, I'll just say it here-the final battle will be Naruto vs. Dark Naruto. At this point, Dark Naruto is the only one that can truly stand up to Naruto. Of course you're probably thinking that with the Kyuubi's chakra as well as the Juubi's, Naruto has the edge. Well, he can't use the Juubi against Dark Naruto since there's the chance of Dark Naruto gaining control of the bijuu as a result and that would be a bitch.**

**And as for the Kyuubi's chakra….I got something in mind to even the battlefield. But this is all to just to keep the story entertaining till the very end.**

**That's all I've got this time. Once again, hope you all enjoyed it. Oh, and it seems that in the manga Sasuke is not emo anymore….well I really don't believe that for just one moment just yet. There's gotta be something else that he must be thinking of doing. I mean, all the shit that he's done to this and to just suddenly turn good again like that…I call bullshit.**

**But that's just my opinion. So…review and all that and if you have any questions, ask them.**

**Till next time.**


	45. Preparations For War pt I

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…."- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<br>_**"Hmm…"**_**- Dark Naruto****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 44:<br>Preparations For War pt. I**

Tsunade jumped from tree branch to branch with one injured Hatake Kakashi on her back. After finding him within a collapsed room beneath a bunch of debris from said room, she had took off. As much as she wanted to just go and find her grandmother, she knew that as of right now she was of no position to do something like that. When she finally would confront her grandmother for the final time, it would be in her own terms, not her grandmother's.

"What's wrong with you?" said Tsunade with a sigh as she continued to jump to tree branch after tree branch. "Getting yourself injured like this of all times when I need you the most!"

Kakashi simply chuckled without any humor. "I'm sorry about this, but I was in way over my head it would seem."

Tsunade could only take a glance to the jonin on her back. "What's that suppose to mean?" she asked him.

"I guess it's better if you knew now," replied Kakashi before sighing. "I don't know how else to put this, but….it seems that my old teammate is still alive."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as she stopped on a snowy tree branch, placing Kakashi down to lay him next to the tree trunk.

"What do you mean?" asked a curious Tsunade as she kneeled in front of him. "Which one of your teammates?"

"Uchiha Obito…." answered Kakashi in a whisper.

But Tsunade still heard him, causing her eyes to widen in shock. She of course had heard what had happened that day in that mission of the Kannabi Bridge during the Third Shinobi War. It had been Kakashi's first mission as a jonin also a test for said shinobi to see if he could truly handle the responsibility of that rank. Of course even with how things ended, Minato had decided that Kakashi had seen and had learned what it meant to be a true shinobi, or what he thought was what it meant to be a true shinobi at least.

That had also been the day when Kakashi had come out in possession of the sharingan, having earned one of his nicknames as a result. That had also been the day that a sad event had taken place which was when Uchiha Obito had been reported to have had perished during the mission….but here was Kakashi telling her otherwise.

"How can this be possible?" said Tsunade, her eyes still wide in shock.

Kakashi could only shake his head. "I don't know, but he's the one that defeated me and would have killed me if the room hadn't collapsed." 'Although I think that he still could have killed me even with the room collapsing…' finished Kakashi within his mind.

'Could he be the one that appeared that time during the attack in Konoha?' wondered Tsunade, thinking of the Uchiha that had appeared out of nowhere when she had been fighting her grandmother.

"This is troubling…." muttered Tsunade.

Kakashi could only agree with her and was about to respond when a vortex appeared right in between him and Tsunade.

"What's this?" asked Tsunade in curiosity.

Knowing what it was, Kakashi screamed, "Tsunade-sama, move!"

Following the warning, Tsunade jumped out of the way just in time to dodge a fist that appeared from within the vortex.

As she landed on a nearby tree branch, Tsunade turned her attention to where Kakashi still was sitting in front of the tree bark only to see the same Uchiha that she had just been thinking of standing where the vortex had been a few moments before.

'So it was him,' thought Tsunade with an internal frown.

"You didn't really think that I was going to let you get away, did you?" said Obito to Kakashi without turning around to face said shinobi.

Kakashi could only chuckle in response without any humor yet again. "No, I really didn't think so…."

Obito turned his head back to glance at who was once his comrade. "So, you're not that stupid then…"

"So you really are Obito then?" said Tsunade, catching said Uchiha's attention.

Obito turned his head forward again to focus on Tsunade, ignoring Kakashi for the moment. "And how do you know that?" he asked her with humor in his voice, already knowing the answer to the question.

"Kakashi here has informed me," responded Tsunade.

"Oh?" said Obito, turning to look at Kakashi again. "So you believe me now, do you?"

Kakashi didn't respond to that.

Obito turned to Tsunade after a few moments. "Yeah, that's me. I'm Uchiha Obito." Obito then shrugged. "But of course, it makes no difference to me if you believe me or not at this point."

"If Kakashi here thinks that you are Obito then it must be true," retorted Tsunade.

Obito chuckled at that. "Right…." He then took his time to give Tsunade a once over, making him nod in approval. "I must say that you haven't aged a day, Tsunade. I know it's because of that genjutsu of yours but still….nice."

Tsunade didn't respond to that. "So you're on my grandmother's side, are you?" she asked him, ignoring his comment about her looks.

"I wouldn't say _her_ side," replied Obito with a small chuckle. "But if you're asking if we're both on the _same_ side then…yes, yes we are."

"So you know about what happened with the Uchiha clan then," stated Tsunade as she brought her fists together.

Obito shook his head in amusement at that. "And here I thought that you knew better than that," said Obito before looking at her in the eyes. "I honestly don't give a crap's ass about what happened to the Uchiha clan." 'That's Mikoto, not me,' he thought before continuing. "Why I'm doing all of this is for an entire different reason that even if I did tell you what it is, it wouldn't make a difference at this point."

"No, it wouldn't," agreed Tsunade, "but you must obviously have valuable information about everything that is currently happening. Capturing you here right now would be a wasted opportunity."

"I suppose that is true," said Obito with another chuckle. 'Although I'm in a bad position,' thought Obito. 'If Mito knew that I killed her granddaughter, I don't know what she would do in response…'

The new moment Tsunade was in midair, her right leg raised upward, intending on smashing Obito into pieces. Well, maybe not that far since she needed him alive but whatever came close to that.

Her foot then contacted with what she thought was Obito as she heard a faint crack, making her smirk lightly.

"Oh my, you actually cracked it…."

Her eyes widened for a moment before looking down to see the last thing that expected, and that was an unharmed looking Obito. But not only was he unharmed, but he was also surrounded in…well she didn't know how to describe it. It papered to be some sort of orange ribcage. That was the best description that she could give.

'Her strength is impressive,' thought Obito, noticing the crack on his basic Susanoo form. 'I need to be careful of it….'

Tsunade jumped upwards again as a bony hand appeared where she had just been the next moment.

'This must be the Susanoo jutsu that I heard of,' thought Tsunade as she observed Obito with a calculating look.

**"Raikiri!"**

"Oh?" Obito raised an eyebrow as he looked behind him to see Kakashi coming at him again with his original jutsu. 'So he can still move,' thought Obito.

'I've got to make it!' thought Kakashi within his mind.

"I thought that we already established that this wouldn't work on me," commented Obito with a chuckle as his Susanoo ribcage that was around him disappeared as Kakashi phased right through him again.

'I didn't make it,' thought Kakashi in irritation before collapsing down on the ground, holding his stomach in pain. 'I'm still too injured from before,' thought Kakashi in pain.

"Challenging me when you're that injured," said Obito with a shake of his head as he walked up to Kakashi. "I'm not that brat that you knew me as, Kakashi."

"I suppose not," replied Kakashi with sorrow as Obito stopped right in front of him.

"I'll be taking my eye back now," stated Obito.

"Don't forget about me!" exclaimed Tsunade as she appeared behind Obito.

'I've had it with her,' thought Obito as Tsunade's fist phased right through him.

'What sort of jutsu is this!' thought Tsunade in shock.

"This is none of your business," stated Obito as a chain appeared around Tsunade, wrapping around said blonde Senju tightly.

"Do you really think that these will hold me?" said Tsunade as she tried to brake through them, only to find that she couldn't, shocking her.

"These chains prevent you from using chakra," stated Obito with a chuckle, "meaning that your inhuman strength is not going to work right now."

Tsunade could only scowl at this. "You…"

"Like I said, this is none of your business," stated Obito as he walked up to her.

"Kakashi is one of my shinobi, so this is my business," retorted Tsunade with another scowl.

"Still stubborn, are you?" said Obito with a grin as he stood in front of her. "I wonder how long that's going to last."

"I won't let any of you soil my grandfather's dream!" stated Tsunade with anger.

"I'm afraid that you're way too late to be saying something like that," replied Obito before wrapping some parts of the chain around both of his hands. "But I'll leave it to you to decide what you want to do," said Obito flinging her down to ground below, the chain still wrapped firmly around her.

Seeing her go down, Obito turned his attention to the still downed Kakashi. "So this is the end…." said Obito as he stood in front of said injured shinobi.

Kakashi simply closed his eyes, knowing that there was nothing he could do about this situation with the way that he currently was.

"You're not going to tell about Rin, are you?" asked Obito, but said it more like a statement.

Kakashi didn't reply.

Obito simply chuckled before forming an all familiar jutsu, shocking Kakashi.

"That's my-" he began, only to be interrupted.

"Yes," said Obito as a Raikiri formed in his right hand. "To be killed by your own jutsu…it must be a bitch."

Kakashi merely closed his eyes again.

Seeing this, Obito brought his right hand forward.

* * *

><p>Down below on the snowy ground, Tsunade struggled with the chain around her, only for it to disappear a moment later.<p>

Looking around as she stood up, Tsunade could only frown. The fact that the chain disappeared meant that it was no longer needed to keep her at bay, meaning…

Frowning more, she pushed chakra to her feet as she jumped upwards to where she had fallen from. Landing, she looked around for any signs of Kakashi or Obito.

But she only discovered a small puddle of blood on the ground.

'Kakashi,' thought Tsunade worriedly.

Looking around once more, Tsunade brought one of her fists to one of the nearby trees, braking it in half.

"DAMMIT!"

* * *

><p>Gaara could only look back at the nearly completely destroyed building one more time, not believing everything that had just happened.<p>

"We need to get going," said Onoki as he floated next to the redhead.

A solemn looking Temari was standing a bit to the front of the two kages. After the room had collapsed on them, Gaara had grabbed the unconscious Temari and had looked for Kankuro's body, only to not be able find it anywhere. They had not been able to do a thorough search because of the urgency of the current situation, so they had decided to leave Kankuro's body behind.

"There will be time for you to get revenge," continued Onoki as he glanced at the redhead. "But right now it's not the time. We need to make a distance between us and this place before Uzumaki or anyone of them that are following him decide to come and follow us. And we're not in any position to fight anyone of them right now."

Gaara didn't respond as he turned his back on the building and continued to walk.

"I'm sorry Gaara…." muttered Temari while looking down.

Gaara didn't reply.

'This will be interesting to observe,' thought Onoki as he floated behind the two Suna shinobi.

* * *

><p>Within the destroyed building, another group of individuals was having their own conversation.<p>

"Wooh!"exclaimed Fu as she raised one of her fists in the air. "We did it!"

Mito could only glance in amusement at the young jinchuriki, mentally shaking her head at the fact that said jinchuriki could actually be excited about all that had happened. Well, it wasn't that she didn't enjoy things either. Getting to defeat and watch how Naruto took out Hiruzen's soul was a big plus. Add to what Hashirama had told her….it made her feel better and to have no regrets of things now.

"Seven has the right mindset, yo!" said Bee with a wave of his hands.

Darui chuckled at that while C simply shook his head at Bee's antics. And A….he just stood there.

Yugito simply huffed as she crossed her arms under her chest.

"Well then," began Mikoto as she looked around what was once the first room that one entered when entering through the main entrance, "now that the other nations know that we are serious, our next step is to prepare ourselves for what is to come."

"Well, the Tsuchikage's change of sides is an unpleasant surprise," commented Mei as she stood next to a giant debris of what could have been once part of a wall, or the ceiling, or the floor.

'No, it's a pleasant surprise,' thought Mito but didn't comment on it out loud.

"Kumo's army is ready," said Mikoto before looking at Mei. "Is yours?"

Mei glanced at Ao who shook his head. "We still need a few more preparations for it to be completed," replied Ao. Chojuro merely stood next to him, holding his head down in what appeared to be embarrassment.

"We're only going to have a few hours, perhaps a day at the most," said Mito as she glanced outside through the open doorway to see the night sky. "We don't know when they'll be ready or attack. We need to be ready first and perhaps even strike first to have the element of surprise if we're lucky."

Mikoto nodded at that. "You're right, although they have the numbers on their side."

Mito waved her hands in dismissal at that. "That means nothing for now. If we get the upper hand, them outnumbering us won't count for anything. Besides," Mito's face gained a smirk, "I'm going get Ame on our side now."

Now that got everyone's attention.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Yagura with a raised eyebrow.

"Ame is currently in a mess," began Mito. "They'll take anyone right now to lead them out of this before they're conquered by a nearby nation."

"Like Iwa," muttered Mikoto with a sigh. No doubt that Onoki would not follow through with their agreement anymore, although Mikoto doubted that he ever really meant to follow through with it in the first place.

Kushina tuned them out for a moment to glance at Naruto who was sitting on top of a large debris that resembled the one that Mei stood next to, his back faced towards them. And like the other one, it could have been part of anything.

'I wonder what happened,' thought Kushina as she looked at her son's back.

For his part, Naruto was currently in deep thought, thinking about everything that he had learned up to this point.

**"It's meaningless to be thinking about something like this,"** stated Kurama with a sigh.

'No it isn't,' replied Naruto. 'There's something important out there, something about me that I don't know yet. And I'm tired of not knowing about it.'

**"So?"** said Kurama with a raised eyebrow. **"Why do you care about something like this? You yourself have said that you don't care about what people think about you."**

'This is different,' retorted Naruto. 'This is way different, and I'm sure that you know it is.'

**'Of course I know,'** thought Kurama with another sigh. **"And? What do you expect to do about this?"**

'Ask the being that must have some answers, if not all,' answered Naruto before standing up. His mind was made up. After the encounter that he had just had with Madara, he was through will the mystery game that was currently being played on him. He had been getting more and more annoyed as time progressed and now, he had reached his boiling point on this matter.

**"And what about the preparations for the war?"** asked Kurama.

'The rest can handle that,' answered Naruto, turning to face the others.

"So it's settled then," said Mito as she looked at all the individuals around her. "I, along with Fuka, Roshi, and Han, will head to Ame and re-establish order there as well as get the village on our side."

"In the meantime, I'll head to Kumo with Sasu-chan and his group, as well as the Raikage and his group," said Mikoto with a small grin.

Sasuke's eyebrows twitched violently at hearing his mother say his 'nickname' in front of everyone. In private it was one thing, but in public it was an entire different matter. But he just bit his tongue to bite back a remark. Although the laughing from both Karin and Suigetsu from behind him made it extremely difficult.

Mito nodded in agreement at that, placing Sasuke's nickname to the side for the moment. "Good. Then Naruto will-"

"I have something else to take care of," interrupted Naruto as he appeared beside Kushina.

Mito raised an eyebrow at him. "And what is that exactly?" she asked him.

Naruto shook his head. "It's….personal. The point is that I'll be occupied for the moment."

Mito narrowed her eyes slightly at that, an action that was mirrored by both Kushina and Mikoto.

'There's something going on here,' thought Sasuke as he glanced at his mother and then at Naruto. 'Dobe…are you sleeping with my mother?' If the answer was yes…Sasuke didn't know what to do about it.

'What could he be doing?' wondered Kushina to herself.

Naruto then proceeded to walk out of the building, only to be stopped by Fu who ran up to catch him. "Can I come with you?" she asked as she stopped right behind him.

Kushina was about to say something before Mito placed her hand on her fellow redhead's shoulder, making Kushina look at her. Mito simply shook her head as if to say, 'Just let it go.'

Kushina could only sigh before doing what Mito said.

Naruto glanced behind at Fu before nodding. "If you wish," he said before continuing to walk out, Fu right behind him.

'She has deep feelings for him alright,' thought Mito with a small smile on her face.

"I suppose that leaves me to go to Kiri then," said Mei as she looked at both Yagura and Utakata. "I take it you two will be going with me?"

Yagura nodded. "Yes we will," he answered before looking at Utakata who simply sighed before nodding as well. Hotaru was in Kiri for the moment as well after all.

"I guess I'll be joining you then," said Kushina in a soft tone before looking at Naruto's retreating form.

"Good luck to us then," said Mito.

Everyone else nodded besides Kushina and Mikoto.

* * *

><p>"Where are we going?" asked Fu as she and Naruto took off running through the snowy plain.<p>

"To Uzu," answered Naruto who was looking forward.

"We could have gone with the Mizukage and her group then," stated Fu with a questioning look.

Naruto shook his head at that. "No, I don't want anyone else to know about this."

"Even me?" asked Fu with a small pout.

Naruto chuckled at that. "The reason that you're even coming with me shows that the answer to that is no."

Fu smiled at hearing at that.

Naruto then stopped his running, making Fu stop also. "Why did we stop?" asked Fu with a raised eyebrow.

"We're far enough," replied Naruto as he wrapped his arm around Fu's waist, making said mint haired girl look even more confused.

Naruto's eternal mangekyo sharingan flared to life.

**"You don't have Dark Naruto within you anymore,"** reminded Kurama.

'I still have my sharingan powers though,' replied Naruto before he and Fu both disappeared in a dark flash, making it seem as if they had never been there in the first place besides the footprints on the snow.

* * *

><p>"This is just fucking great! Now we got nothing!"<p>

Shikaku sighed as Ibiki continued to rant in anger. "Calm down, Ibiki."

Ibiki looked at him in anger before pointing at what remained of the insides of Hiashi's head. "I don't know if you haven't realized this Shikaku, but without Hiashi's brain, we'll never know what exactly happened!"

Shikaku shook his head at that. "No, we did get something out of this. This just proves the fact that Naruto didn't kill Hiashi just for the hell of it. It means that there was more to this just like we thought there was."

"And?" said Ibiki with a raised eyebrow, something that no one could tell thanks to the fact that he wore a bandanna on his head to hide his scars. "How are we suppose to find out what exactly it was then?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," muttered Shikaku before Yugao walked in.

"How's the Yamanaka?" asked Ibiki.

"Just some minor mental stress," answered Yugao with a sigh of her own. "It seems that whatever caused this to happen to Hiashi's brain was not meant to affect whoever was trying to access Hiashi's brain for some reason."

"It still turned Hiashi's brain to goo though," commented Anko with a chuckle as she observed Hiashi's head.

'It seems that Inoichi really was the best when it came to looking through a dead person's brain,' thought Shikaku as he tried to think of what to do next. 'Accessing the memories of a dead person is a lot more difficult than accessing that of a live one...'

"My guess is that we try to figure out who's responsible for this," said Ibiki as he held one of his hands to his chin. "If we can find him or her, we can interrogate him or her and find out what exactly is going on here."

"My thoughts exactly," responded Shikaku, "but how do we start is the question."

Anko narrowed her eyes slightly as she backed away slightly from the operating table. "My first guess is Kabuto," said Anko as she shrugged.

That made the other three individuals look at her.

"What makes you say that?" asked Yugao. Both Shikaku and Ibiki merely stared at the purple haired woman in silence.

Anko smirked at Yugao. "Do you really have to ask? The bastard is as trustful as Orochimaru was. Who's to say that he's not teamed up with the Kyuubi gaki in this?"

"That is true…." muttered Ibiki with a thoughtful look. Truth of the matter was that he never approved of what Tsunade had decided to do with Kabuto, mainly agreeing to team up with him. He was unloyal as Orochimaru had been, if not more.

"I guess he's the one that we could start with," agreed Shikaku. "He was Orochimaru's right hand man, meaning that he should be an expert in any type of poisons."

"He's with Tsunade-sama at the Kage Summit right now though," said Yugao.

"We'll tell her when she gets back," responded Ibiki. "We need to make sure that Kabuto doesn't know that we'll be investigating him though."

'Something doesn't feel right about this though,' thought Shikaku as he looked at Hiashi's body once more. Something in his gut told him that he was missing something crucial as well as the brain cells within his brain.

* * *

><p>Dark Naruto glanced down at his bandaged stomach in anger, not believing once again that he had lost to Naruto.<p>

_**'Damn you Kyuubi,'**_ thought Dark Naruto in pure hatred towards the bijuu. _**'You're suppose to have been on my side, not my pathetic other self!'**_

Currently we find Dark Naruto sitting down in a bed within an old base that used to be used by Orochimaru in the Land of Iron. Apparently to Kabuto, it was the only one in the Land of Iron that Orochimaru had bothered to built.

Said individual walked into the room with a glass of water in hand, handing it to Dark Naruto who gulped it down.

"So," began Kabuto after Dark Naruto had drank the water, "what do you plan on doing now?"

_**"What do you think?"**_ said Dark Naruto with a roll of his eyes. _**"After I'm through healing, I'm going to go back and kill that whiskered son of a bitch!"**_

Kabuto raised an amused eyebrow at him. "You have whiskers too, you know."

_**"They look good on me though," **_retorted Dark Naruto.

"Don't forget about your end of the deal," said Kabuto as he readjusted his glasses, pushing the whisker topic to the side.

_**'Riiiiight….'**_ thought Dark Naruto with an internal roll of his eyes. _**"Just let me kill Naruto, and you can have his dead body to do with it whatever you want."**_

'That will do for now,' thought Kabuto before shaking his head. "Do you really think that going back there the way that you are right now is smart?"

Dark Naruto scowled. _**"He got lucky. Next time though, it won't go the same way."**_

Kabuto raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? Because with the Kyuubi, it seems that Naruto-kun holds an advantage over you."

Dark Naruto involuntarily shudder slightly at hearing Kabuto say 'Naruto-kun,' before answering, _**"Like I've told you, it was just luck."**_

Kabuto chuckled. "But I'm offering you something that will surely make you win without any doubt, no luck involved."

Dark Naruto paused at that before looking at Kabuto straight in the eyes. _**"And what exactly do you have in mind?"**_

Kabuto chuckled again. "I'm sure that you have heard of the curse mark, correct?"

Seeing where Kabuto was going with this, Dark Naruto grinned.

* * *

><p>Obito looked up at the dark sky while laying on his back on the rooftop of one of the many Uchiha hideouts throughout the Elemental Nations.<p>

**"It seems that you are being too relaxed right now."**

Obito hmph'ed at hearing that, not turning to look who said it, already knowing that it was Black Zetsu.

"And what are you doing here?" asked Obito.

**"Everyone is getting ready for the war,"** answered Black Zetsu as he also looked up at the sky. He had detached himself from White Zetsu again who had preferred to go and watch how Mito would do in Ame. **"So there is not really anything interesting going on right now. Well, besides what Naruto is doing right now of course."**

"And what is he doing?" asked Obito.

**"I have no idea…."**

Obito chuckled at that before focusing on the stars in the sky again. "This story is almost over, isn't it?" he said softly.

**"There are still some things that are needed to be accomplished before that happens,"** replied Black Zetsu.

"We'll just see how things turn out then," said Obito.

**'We'll see alright,'** thought Black Zetsu as he joined Obito in looking at the star filled night sky.

* * *

><p>Fu could only look at the ruined land before in complete shock, not believing what she was seeing.<p>

'Just what is this?' she thought to herself.

**"It's what happened to Uzu,"** explained Chomei as he too observed everything through Fu. **"It was completely destroyed by Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri. Even a clan such as the Uzumaki couldn't handle that combined force. Although from what I have heard, it seems that they did manage to wipe out about a third of the combined forces if not more."**

'Then why is Naruto teamed up with them then?' asked Fu as she glanced at the calm looking Naruto as they walked through the ruined land.

**"I guess that's for him to know,"** answered Chomei. **'And maybe Kyuubi,'** he added to himself.

After a few more minutes of just walking through the ruined land of Uzu, curiosity got the better of the mint haired jinchuriki.

"What exactly are you going to do here?" asked Fu as she looked at Naruto.

Naruto for his part stopped walking, ignoring Fu's question for the moment. This caused Fu to stop as well and to turn to look at him with a curious look. But Naruto simply stared ahead in front of him.

Turning to look at what he was looking, Fu saw one of the few remaining standing buildings in the entire island, and that's barely standing. It appeared to have had once been some sort of big mansion when it had been in its full glory.

'This place….' thought Fu in curiosity.

Chomei stayed silent.

Naruto then proceeded to calmly walk through the building, Fu following as a result.

'It's a beautiful night,' thought Fu as she looked up at the sky to see the many present stars. 'What a beautiful sight.'

Chomei could only sigh. His jinchuriki just seemed to be too pure and too innocent at times be doing what she was currently doing at the moment.

**'Maybe it's just because she's in love with Naruto,'** thought Chomei.

Naruto looked around the destroyed building after he and Fu walked through what had once been a doorway.

"So what now?" asked Fu as she looked at Naruto expectantly.

"This," answered Naruto as he bit his right thumb, just enough to draw out blood as he proceeded to commence a series of handseals.

Recognizing the handseals made Fu even more confused. 'What's a summoning going to do?' she wondered to herself.

Chomei just stayed silent once again, simply observing.

Naruto brought his hands down and softly muttered, **"Kuchiyose: Shinigami."**

Fu shuddered slightly as she felt a dark and oppressing aura envelop the area, similar to the one that she had felt in the Land of Iron earlier that day.

**"Uzumaki….this is a surprise."**

Naruto simply looked at the summoned Shinigami calmly. "I have many things to ask you, Shinigami."

The Shinigami chuckled. **"What makes you think that I'll answer them? Add to the fact that you have violated our agreement in summoning me without any reason or sacrifices."**

"I already gave you the reason," retorted Naruto with narrowed eyes before his eyes changed into his rinnegan, also flaring his charka in anger at the Shinigami. "And I'm through with this game that you and everyone else have been playing. I want my answers, now."

**'This takes me back,'** thought the Shinigami with a chuckle as he looked at Naruto. **'It's exactly how the kid before him reacted.'****  
><strong>

Fu for her part could only look at Naruto and the supposed 'Shinigami' in confusion. Just how could Naruto do this? And what was all of this about?

**'You've left some things out, haven't you, Kyuubi?'** thought Chomei in slight anger.

The Shinigami was silent for a few moments before responding. **"Alright, Uzumaki Naruto. If you want your answers, then I'll give them to you."**

Naruto simply crossed his arms and tilted his head, showing the Shinigami that he should continue.

The Shinigami for his part brought his cane down on the ground. In the next moment, both Naruto and Fu looked around, only to find themselves in a different place and not the collapsing mansion that they had just been a few moments before.

'Where are we?' thought Naruto as he looked around, an act that was shared by Fu.

**"I don't know…."** muttered Kurama as he payed rapid attention to everything that was currently happening.

Chomei for his part merely kept silent, just taking everything in and glad that his container was here, meaning that he would get to know something knew.

**"In case you are wondering, this is before the Shinobi era,"** began the Shinigami. **"Way before the time of the Rikudo Sennin as well."**

Naruto looked around again, seeing what appeared to be a more advanced civilization in terms of technology. Some buildings were huge, bigger than those that he had seen in Ame. He also many other different things that he did not recognized either.

"This is before the usage of chakra came about, isn' it?" asked Naruto, but he already knew the answer to that question.

The Shinigami simply chuckled in response. **"Yes, it is. To understand the answers that you seek, I'm going to have to tell you everything that has happened to have caused what we know as reality today."**

The Shinigami brought his free hand forward, pointing all around the area.

**"This is what happened to your race in the past and just how exactly the man you know as the Rikudo Sennin came about to existence in the world….."**

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**I know, I know. An early chapter, but meh, here it is. A small one too compared to previous ones, but that's the way that it is. I'm sure that none of you mind either. That being said, here is where questions will be answered at last! Or well…most of them at least.**

**And regarding the issue with Dark Naruto….I see that a lot of you have problems with it, and all I can say is that my hands are tied with that issue. Like I have said before, at this point the only one that can give Naruto a challenge is Dark Naruto. Well, Madara could put up a good fight, but he would still lose. I mean, even with the rest of the Hokages and his brother, he still lose. But yeah, it's just to keep the story entertaining to the end. And if you still have a problem with it then….I'm sorry, but it's final.**

**Well, that's all I've got. And before you judge this as a 'cliche,' just wait till the end to come do a conclusion about that. Please tell me what you thought of this in a review. It would be highly appreciated.**

**Till next time.**


	46. Preparations For War pt II

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…."- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<br>**_"Hmm…."_****- Past Civilization****

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><p><strong>Chapter 45:<br>Preparations For War pt. II**

Naruto could only look down at the life below him, not entirely believing what he was seeing. Not that anyone could blame him. According to the Shinigami, this is the way that humanity was at one point. More technically advanced then they were now but also weaker in terms of natural strength. That's what all these machines were for, to make up for their weaknesses and in some instances even surpass their natural limitations at this point.

As he had noticed before when he had first appeared here, the buildings were simply huge, plain and simple. But they also looked different from the ones that currently existed in the Elemental Nations. They looked…better. And more futuristic for lack of better term. They were all white, with what appeared to be made completely of glass in some cases. Those were the two most common type of structures. Although there seemed to be some exceptions, but Naruto didn't dwell on it.

Transportation was way different as well. Naruto could make out what appeared to be trains except that they looked different than the few that he had seen before. They were white as well and ran on tracks that appeared to be supported on bridges, running entirely through the city. Or at least that's what Naruto thought this place was, a city.

Another transportation…umm 'vehicle' was some sort of flying and/or hovering device. That was how Naruto could describe it as. This type of transportation seemed to be for both short traveling distances and long travel as well, the flying mode being for the long travel deduced Naruto. But this transportation vehicle seemed to only be able to carry four passengers at a time and owned by individuals, not for the public like the trains that he had seen before.

The streets were different too. They were clean with multiple lamposts running all scattered throughout all the streets. The streets looked different than from the Elemental Nations as well. They were made out from what Naruto recognized as concrete. What an ingenious way to use concrete realized Naruto. In the Elemental Nations, concrete was only used for building buildings and that was it. With the occasional bridge here and there. But something told him that this was due to the fact that nowhere in the Elemental Nations did there exist that vehicle that he had seen earlier.

And the people….they were strange as well. They all wore a completely white outfit. It composed of a long sleeved white shirt with multiple buttons running down the middle. It looked like some sort of lab coat except without the 'coat part,' meaning that it wasn't open down the middle. Well, that was what it looked like to Naruto at least. The people also wore plain white pants with white ordinary white shoes. And that was it. No decorations, no other colors, no anything else. Even some of the women that Naruto saw, they all wore the exact same thing.

'Just what kind of place is this?' thought Naruto as he looked at everything from up above where he was currently flying. Well more like hovering really. And this was due in thanks to the Shinigami who stood behind him.

"Woah!" exclaimed Fu as she gazed down below, not believing her eyes as well. "This is incredible…." she muttered in fascination.

But Naruto wasn't paying her too much thought at the moment. Instead, he turned around to focus on the Shinigami.

"What is all of this?" asked Naruto with narrowed eyes. "Do you really expect for me to believe that humanity was once like this?"

The Shinigami could only chuckle in response. **"I suppose that I can understand your skepticism on this subject, but this **_**is**_** the truth. Before the world became the place you know as the Elemental Nations, this is how things were in the past."**

Frowning in response, Naruto once again looked down below him to see people going about their businesses.

**"But this is just the beginning of things,"** continued the Shinigami as he pointed to everything below him. **"This is all the end result of humanity's ever growing need to surpass everything that they know and everything that they can do. I'm sure that you must understand this, young Uzumaki. Even in the present today, humanity is just like that. Even you."**

Naruto didn't respond to that, knowing very well that it was true. It would have been both stupid and pointless if he would have done so. Not only that, but he would be a hypocrite if he tried to deny it as well. And he would never stoop so low as to do that. Yes, he had killed some innocent along the way of achieving what he wanted, but Naruto had already come to terms with that. Did it make him a bastard? Yes. An imbecile? Yes. An asshole? Absolutely. But he didn't try to deny it.

**"The fact of the matter is that humans have the tendency to ask questions,"** continued the Shinigami once again**, "and will not stop until they have found one that they are satisfy with. This is something else that you should also be familiar with, correct?"**

Naruto didn't respond again, not that he needed to. The Shinigami already knew the answer to that question.

**"As you can see, this is the result of humanity asking questions,"** stated the Shinigami as he pointed to all around them once more. **"Well, in a way at least. But the point still stands that humans are very curious creatures, especially during this time period. They are even considering of going into space right about this time….."**

Naruto's eyes widened at that. Space….was that possible. Well considering all the technology that he had seen so far, he figured that for them it could be possible. And something told him that he hadn't seen anything yet.

"That can't be possible….." muttered Fu, having been listening to the conversation that was currently taking place.

The Shinigami spared her a glance. **"But it can. Well, to them perhaps. Of course before they could actual go through with it, it was too late…."** the Shinigami chuckled slightly at that as if being a private joke that he knew only of which was probably true right now.

Naruto's eyes narrowed at that. That was the most important part here. If humanity was so advanced as it was, how did things end up the way that they are currently are? What happened to all the technology? What happened to humanity? And how did the Rikudo Sennin come into the picture in all of this?

Kurama merely stayed silent, simply paying rapid attention. These were things that he didn't know. Just how exactly his creator came into existence. It was something that had always baffled him. Of course, he had asked the Sennin once before his immediate death.

The Sennin had simply laughed lightly before answering, _"One day you'll know, Kurama. Just give it time and be patient. Things will all become clear."_

**'Was this what he had been referring to?'** wondered Kurama before shaking his head. It didn't matter right now. All that mattered was listening to what the Shinigami had to say.

Kurama's thoughts were currently being mirrored by Chomei.

The next moment, Naruto and Fu found themselves in a entirely different location from the one that that they had been a second before.

Looking around, Naruto deduced that they were in an office within one of the buildings that existed in this time. But that was an obvious observation. There was medium size leathered sofa in one of the corners, one large dark wood desk on the other side of where the door stood, a shelf filled of books on the opposite side of the sofa, and two leather chairs in front of the desk with another one on the other side.

There was also a carpet right in the middler of the floor. The office was most likely in one of the buildings that Naruto had seen that had not been white or made completely out of glass considering how dark it was currently within the room.

Fu took several steps forward, looking around the office.

Naruto for his part walked up to the desk to see several documents scattered about the surface of the desk with one pen right in the middle of the mess. There was also one picture of a man, a woman, and two kids.

'Most likely the owner and his family,' thought Naruto, giving the picture a glance before picking up one of the documents, trying to see just what exactly made this place special enough to have made the Shinigami bring them here.

A few moments later, Naruto put the paper down back on the desk, a frustrated look on his face. And you might be wondering as to why he was frustrated. And the answer to that is that he couldn't read whatever language it was that this time used. Hell, it resembled nothing to the one that the Elemental Nations used! Unless it was some sort of secret code or something….

"Alright, I give. Why have you exactly brought us here?" asked Naruto, facing the calm looking Shinigami.

Fu brought her attention to the Shinigami as well, interested in the answer.

The Shinigami for his part merely pointed to the door of the office.

Turning his gaze towards it, Naruto wasn't surprised as the door opened, two men walking through it. No, what surprised him was what they were wearing. It looked nothing to the attire that everyone else was wearing outside. The two men were both wearing pure black business suits with white dress shirts being the other different color. Everything else was black.

'I can worry about their attire later,' thought Naruto as one of the men sat down on the chair on the opposite side of the desk of the other two. Naruto recognized him as the man on the picture frame.

_"Have they found it?" _asked the apparent boss between the two well built men.

The other man for his part brought out a small device from his pocket, pressing some sort of buttons on it.

_"Yes, they have," _answered the man with the small device in his hands. _"Although according to Dr. Newman's report, it seems that it is tightly locked by something present inside the cave. He's not entirely sure what it is, but his guess is that it has something to do with the markings that we have found."_

The man sitting on the chair laughed lightly at hearing that. _"The good doctor seems to dwell on those markings too much for my tastes," _he commented with a small amused grin.

_"If I may sir,"_ began the man, making his boss wave one of his hands as if to say 'go on.'

The man collected his thoughts for a moment before speaking, _"Everything that we have uncovered so far is because of those markings, or symbols, or whatever it is that they are just like Dr. Newman predicted. I don't think that it could be farfetched if-"_

_"That thought is simply idiotic,"_ interrupted the other man with a small sneer. _"To think that simple markings can actually be more than just that! And to have some sort of power….that is simply idiotic,"_ he finished with another sneer.

_"But what if they aren't just markings?"_ questioned the other man. _"What if they're more than just that? Dr. Newman seems to believe that they're an ancient language, and that that is how he has been able to-"_

_"That's enough Jun," _interrupted the now identified Jun's boss. _"For something like that to be possible….is impossible. Nothing in our science has proven that what Dr. Newman thinks is possible. The man is just simply delusional."_

But Jun didn't seem to be entirely convinced of that.

Seeing this, Jun's boss stood up. _"You are my most trusted subordinate, Jun, as well as my best friend. Just have faith in me. The power source that we have detected from within that cave can solve all of our problems!" _Jun's boss's face gained an excited look from just thinking of what they could do with the discovery that they had unearthed. _"Just think of the possibilities! An unlimited power supply! All the things that we can solve from that!"_

Jun sighed before nodding. _"I understand, Ken. I just hope that you are right about this….."_

The now identified Ken walked around his desk towards Jun, placing one of his hands on Jun's shoulder. _"And I am. In just a few hours, I'll be known as the man that has saved our collapsing society! And with you as my second in command….the whole world will be ours."_

Jun simply offered Ken a small smile before the two men both walked out of the office.

Naruto could only stare at the doorway as the 'Ken' shut the door after him.

"What just happened?" asked Fu with a confused look on her face. "What were they talking about?"

'And how could we understand them?' thought Naruto before shaking the question away. It was clearly the Shinigami's doing as well as the fact that neither 'Ken' or 'Jun' had seen him or Fu.

**"That was just a bit of a background information of what is about to commence once they find what is hidden in that cave,"** replied the Shinigami with humor obviously present in his voice.

Naruto looked straight at the Shinigami. "I thought that I had made it clear that I was through with playing games. I want answers, not more questions!" he said with narrowed eyes.

**"And you are receiving them," **answered the Shinigami calmly. **"You just need to have some patience, Uzumaki, as well as think things through right now."**

Naruto sighed but didn't say anything else. Truth of the matter was that his patience on this subject had ran out along time ago, but he could hold for a little while.

Seeing this, the Shinigami continued, **"I'm sure that you have seen how technologically advanced humanity is at this time. But that came with a cost. It wasn't before long before their supplies of what made all of this technology possible started to run out. That is how organizations like this one came about."**

The Shinigami took a pause before continuing. **"The government simply tasked them to find a new power source that works just as good as the ones that they currently have or perhaps even better. Not only that but one that wouldn't run out as quickly. One that could be almost limitless if possible."** The Shinigami could only chuckle. **"One of the hardest things to do. Almost everyone was giving up by this point and thought that they would simply lose their current way of life. That is until about a month ago when a discovery was made."**

Naruto looked around as they left the office and were now standing in front of what appeared to be a massive gate. But somehow the gate appeared to be familiar to Naruto for some reason. Not only that, but he recognized the 'marking' that both Ken and Jun had been talking about. They were the same symbols that the Elemental Nations used as their language.

Fu also noticed this particular fact in slight wonder.

**'I don't like where this is going,'** thought Kurama with narrowed eyes. Just like Naruto, the gate seemed all too familiar to him for some reason. Not only that, but Kurama could sense extreme hostility from deeper within Naruto's subconscious.

**'The Juubi….'** thought Kurama.

Chomei for his part was also sharing Kurama's thoughts. The gate just seemed familiar to him. Not only that, but Chomei found that he felt a strong hatred towards the structure for some reason. Why was that?

Naruto looked at his surroundings, trying to see where the gate actually stood. It appeared to be within some sort of giant cave. Not only that, but strange looking machines were all hooked up to the massive gate, multiple men working on said machines.

'They must be trying to open it,' thought Naruto before focusing on the gate itself as well as the familiar markings.

He narrowed his eyes, recognizing exactly what some of the markings were. 'This is some sort of fuinjutsu,' thought Naruto. 'And a strong one at that….'

**"As you can see, they have already been trying to open it for awhile now,"** stated the Shinigami with another chuckle. **"Who knows how many men had tried before giving up before one man stood up to the challenge and had actually gotten the closest out of the rest."**

Looking towards where the Shinigami was pointing at, Naruto saw a middle aged man in a lab coat with a dark brown pants and dark brown shoes. He wore glasses and had dark brown hair. He was currently in the process of running from a man that was working on one of the machines to the next.

'Something tells me that this is that Dr. Newman,' thought Naruto as he looked at the man.

"Naruto, look," said Fu, pointing towards the top of the gate.

Looking up as well, Naruto saw what had caught Fu's attention and now his as well. What had caught Fu's attention was basically a warning. It read:

**Do not attempt to open this gate for whoever does will bring about great destruction to the world and ultimately its end. What lies behind this gate is forever to be locked away. This is your only warning.**

After having read the warning, everything became clear to Naruto. Just what exactly had happened to this civilization. To humanity that made it become what it was today. Well, at least the beginning cause.

**"I see you understand,"** said the Shinigami as things began to change around them once agin.

Looking around, Naruto saw that they were still inside of the cave, but the cave had changed. Well, more like the occupants.

Naruto saw what appeared to be heavily gray armored individuals holding a strange looking weapon to be present all throughout the cave and in front of the gate.

Naruto also spotted both Ken and Jun with Dr. Newman standing in front of them, two of the heavily armored individuals standing behind both Ken and Jun.

_"It is time," _stated Ken as he looked at Dr. Newman with a cold look. _"The higher ups are getting impatient, and I'll be damned if I get blame for the delay of this just because of your cowardliness, Dr. Newman."_

Dr. Newman shook his head at that while pointing towards the massive gate that stood behind him. _"I'm no coward, Mr. Ken. I'm just a realistic. All the signs here tell me that opening this thing will not solve any of our problems but doom all of us."_ Dr. Newman then brought forward a stack of paper that he currently held. _"From what I have been able to decipher from these symbols, it is most likely that-"_

_"I've had enough with this bullshit," _interrupted Ken, smacking the stack of papers out of Dr. Newman's hand, sending them flying all over the place. _"You're mistaken if you believe that I'll buy into your crazy belief. That gate will be opened, and I will save our collapsing race! Now, open that gate! Or else,"_ Ken shrugged as the two armed individuals behind him brought their weapons forward, pointing them at Dr. Newman_, "or else my men will simply kill you here, and I'll just find someone else to do it."_

Dr. Newman simply readjusted his glasses before taking out one of the same devices that Jun had taken out back at the office from within one of his pockets of his lab coat, a calm look on his face.

Naruto found all of this to be intriguing.

A few moments later, Dr. Newman looked up from his device before walking up towards the gate, his device glowing as well as the seals around the gate.

'How!' thought Naruto, shocked.

A few moments later, the massive gate was wide opened.

Ken motioned for some of his men to go inside to investigate. A group of five calmly walked forward, Dr. Newman stepping back.

Ken could only look as his men walked into the massive gate, an eager look on his face. This was everything that he had worked for. And now it was right in front of him. His dream was almost complete. For the entire world to know his name and to be known as the man who saved the world from its problems.

He was broken out of his thoughts as screams could be heard from within the gate, belonging to those that had just walked inside.

Before he could ponder this, the ground beneath him started to shake.

_"What is this!"_ he screamed. He looked towards the gate where what appeared to be massive tails shooting out, grabbing multiple of his men along the way.

_"Newman!"_ screamed Ken, trying to find said doctor as everyone in the cave tried to escape. But he couldn't find a single trace of the doctor. Most likely meaning that he had already left, making Ken growl in anger.

_"Ken!" _screamed Jun as he appeared on his side. _"We need to get out of here!"_

Ken growled at him. _"I'm not leaving! This is my dream! And I will not see it die like this!"_

Before Jun could respond, one of the tails was behind Ken the next moment. Seeing this, Jun pushed Ken out of the way at the last moment, the tail grabbing him as a result.

Ken could only watch with wide eyes as Jun was pulled towards inside the gate, not quite believing what he saw.

_"NO!"_ screamed Ken as the cave started to collapse all around him. But he didn't move an inch. The next moment, another tail was in front of him, grabbing him the same way as it had with Jun and many other people and dragging him towards the inside of the gate. Throughout all of this, Ken didn't even scream.

The earth itself began to shake even more violently as lava began to spew out from under the ground, the cave finally collapsing completely.

Naruto looked around again as he noticed that he was once agin in the air. But instead of seeing the futuristic world that he had seen the first time, he now only saw pure destruction.

It was a catastrophe. Many erupting volcanoes were present, causing even more destruction. Seas of lava were everywhere. It looked like the earth itself was trying to destroy itself.

"This is horrible…." muttered Fu, watching all of this with wide eyes.

**"I'm sure that you must know just what exactly was sealed inside that cave,"** stated the Shinigami from behind both Naruto and Fu.

"The Juubi…." muttered Naruto, but both Fu and the Shinigami heard him.

'The Juubi?' thought Fu.

Chomei remained silent.

**"Correct,"** said the Shinigami with a small chuckle.

"But how?" asked Naruto, looking back at the Shinigami with narrowed eyes. "Just how exactly did the Juubi end up seal into that cave in the first place. And that Dr. Newman…just how was he able to to disable the seals that were present in that gate to keep it close?"

**"Hmm…."** hummed the Shinigami. **"How the Juubi was sealed into that cave is simple. Now as to how Newman managed to do what he did is a bit more complicated."**

"We have all the time," retorted Naruto, looking straight at the Shinigami. Fu for her part also looked at the Shinigami with a questioning look.

Seeing this, the Shinigami continued, **"The Juubi was once not the being that you know it as today. It actually was a lot different."**

"Different?" repeated Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "Different how?"

**"For once it actually had a thought process,"** answered the Shinigami with humor laced in his tone. **"Just like when it learned to think once again once the Sennin sealed it within himself. The attitude was the same though, I'll tell you that."**

"Don't beat around the bush," interrupted Naruto. "Just what exactly was the Juubi before it became what it is today?"

The Shinigami shrugged slightly. **"It was one of us."**

Naruto paused at hearing that. He already knew who exactly the Shinigami was referring to when he said 'us.' But for the Juubi to have once been a god….

"Something happened to make the Juubi become what it is today, didn't it?" stated Naruto as he looked at the Shinigami. "Something tells me that it didn't want to play along with the rest of you…."

**"You're almost correct," **replied the Shinigami. **"I, for one, didn't care what the Juubi did. The others though….they didn't share my thoughts. And you're correct. There are certain rules that we must abide with. Of course, I tend to bend them at most times…."** said the Shinigami with another chuckle.

He then continued**, "Of course, the others didn't quite share my sentiment. Seeing the Juubi braking every single rule as well as even trespass into the domain of the other gods…they became pissed, point and simple. And what did they do? They took the Juubi's rational thoughts and turned it into nothing more than a beast. No, even lower than that. Even a beast has some rational thoughts even if they're just instincts after all."**

Naruto turned his attention back to the destruction below. "So after taking the Juubi's rationality, they sealed it away." Naruto then rolled his eyes. "Didn't it ever occur to them that this could happen?"

The Shinigami shrugged. **"I'm not like the others. I wasn't there when they decided to do this because I just didn't care. Besides…."** the Shinigami chuckled for what, like the twentieth time, **"because of their action, many people died which meant more souls for my collection. It was a win situation for me even though I didn't even lift a finger."**

Naruto chuckled slightly at that. "So then the rest is history I suppose. The Juubi roaming the earth until the Rikudo Sennin sealed it within himself."

The Shinigami nodded. **"Yes. All records of what this was actually about was all lost. Even with their technology, humanity couldn't even put one scratch on the Juubi. They were hopeless. Soon, life as it once was was completely forgotten. Now it was just about surviving the Juubi. The fact that it was just a mindless beast helped a lot in that. If it could have thought…."**

'That would have been a true bitch,' finished Naruto within his mind.

**"As for your other question…."** the Shinigami paused for awhile, before continuing. **"The other gods had a plan. And that was to allow for humans to unlock a power within themselves that they didn't even know existed."**

"Chakra…." said Naruto in a whisper.

The Shinigami nodded. **"Exactly. I don't know what exactly Kami was thinking when he did this, but apparently it was meant to happen one day. Of course, I wasn't interested in the slightest about what exactly his plan was or still is, so I didn't pay too much attention to it. But Newman, that simple scientist, apparently played an important role in human development in later years."**

"Because he could use chakra," finished Naruto, realization sinking in. Now it made sense as to how he had been able to disable the fuinjutsu. Combined with the fact that he must have had been a genius, the fact that he could even understand some of the writing on the gate and figuring out as to how exactly to disable the seals proving that, it was of no surprise now.

The Shinigami nodded again. **"Yes. I don't know as to why it was him out of all of the human race, but the fact still stands that he created two of the most shocking changes in human history."**

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "Two?" he repeated. One was accidentally releasing the Juubi. And even then it hadn't been his fault. Rather it had been that 'Ken' person. But..."What is the other one?"

The Shinigami chuckled before responding. **"That single Dr. Newman became to be the father of the one that carried Kami's plan into fruition. Well, in a way at least."**

Naruto's eyes widened at this. "You can't possibly mean-"

"Indeed it is correct."

Turning his head to the side, a familiar individual became present.

Naruto locked eyes with none other than the Rikudo Sennin.

**"**Dr. Newman was my father," stated the Rikudo Sennin.

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><p>"So this is Ame is it…..too rainy for my taste…."<p>

Mito chuckled as she looked to her right to look at Fuka. "I think the name should have told you this village's climate."

Fuka shrugged slightly as she, along with Mito and both Roshi and Han who were behind the two redheads, walked through one of the streets of the village of Ame.

"I've never been in Ame," she stated. "It was too secretive for my tastes, and I never had any reason before to come here."

"I suppose…." replied Mito.

They were all currently wearing the Akatsuki uniform save for Mito for it wouldn't have fit well with the kimono that she was currently wearing.

But no one payed them any mind.

"This place doesn't look like if it's in turmoil," commented Roshi as he looked around. Han merely stayed silent, his head forward.

"Appearances," replied Mito as she glanced at him. "No doubt that whoever has any power left in this village are currently fighting with each other. Not to mention as to how the shinobi must be like with Pain gone…."

Roshi didn't respond.

"So…." began Fuka as she looked at her fellow Uzumaki. "How are we going to do this?"

Mito smirked lightly as she jumped upward towards a rooftop, the other three following her.

As she landed, Mito looked up above towards the highest tower in the village. No doubt that that was where everything would be happening at the moment.

"You leave that to me," stated Mito with a small grin.

The other three behind her simply nodded.

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><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Well, that does it for another chapter again. A lot of new information has been put on the table and a lot more is to come.**

**I know that it is kind of bold of me to do what I'm doing with the Rikudo Sennin but meh, this is it. That being said, do tell me what you thought and if something doesn't make sense, just ask and I'll try my best to answer and explain it to you.**

**So again, share your thoughts in a review.**

**Till next time.**


	47. Preparations For War pt III

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<br>**_"Hmm…"_****- Flashback/Memory****

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><p><strong>Chapter 46:<br>Preparations For War pt. III**

Let it be known for a fact that Uzumaki Mito was not a patient woman. For reasons that said female Uzumaki could not comprehend, her patience had never been too high. It was one of her few shortcomings, and although not much, some did exist.

Of course as she had grown older, Mito had learned to be more patient. And despite the fact that she actually looked like a woman in her early twenties, she knew for a fact that that wasn't even really close to her real age. So you might consider the fact that she could control her impatience much more than she once did when she was once truly at this age that her body showed.

But that was not the case. And that puzzled the female Uzumaki as she stood behind one of the many pillars within a big and dark room inside the largest tower in the village of Ame. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that her body had truly been reborn or recreated as it once had been at this age, meaning that her mental aspects of her being were also recreated as they had once been and not that of an old woman.

And this was something that Mito had never given much thought to until now. And why was that? That would be do in thanks to the ten middle aged men that were presently sitting around one huge round table in the middle of the room. Several pillars stood, circling the whole room entirely.

And that was where she was, standing behind one of the said pillars. No, it was more like she was leaning against the pillar.

'How long will it take for these idiots to be finished?' thought Mito in a slight frustration, something that she had never truly felt ever since she had been revived other than when Madara had been involved. But she had every right to be frustrated at the once Uchiha clan leader.

The bastard had said that he had only left out a few things to her but in fact, it was much more.

Thinking of this caused Mito to remember the day when Madara had come to her and had changed her life forever.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback: Start!<strong>

_"This can't be happening….."_

_Even though it was said in a whisper, the words could be heard loud and clear within the room as it was the only noise that had been made for quite a time._

_One old Uzumaki Mito could be seen standing by one of the windows of the living room within her house. Well it technically wasn't _her _house, but since no other Uzumaki was present in the village of Konoha, by all rights it was simply hers now._

_Mito could only look up at the Hokage Mountain, staring at the face of her deceased husband and founder of Konoha, Senju Hashirama._

_'How can they do this?' wondered Mito to herself as she continued to gaze at the Shodai's face carved on the Mountain._

_'Hashirama….'_

_Her thoughts ceased as she suddenly turned around, a kunai in hand, ready to defend herself from the intruder that had just invaded her home._

_But instead, she found her hand that held the kunai stopped as well as coming face to face with an all familiar face, shocking her to her core._

_"Well, well," said the intruder, amusement clearly present in his tone. "You may have grown old, but your skills haven't dulled in the slightest, Mito."_

_"Madara…." simply responded Mito as she looked at the supposed dead Uchiha. The fact that he was alive didn't shock her at all. Well it did surprise her in all honesty, but what shocked her was the fact that he looked exactly the same as the last time that she had seen him during his battle with Hashirama in the Valley of the End, meaning that he hadn't aged at all._

_She couldn't keep the shock out of her face as she noticed this in wonder._

_Either Madara didn't notice her shock, or he simply didn't care as he inspected Mito as well. "It seems that you still wear those kimonos of yours," said Madara with a small chuckle. How the woman before him had ever been able to properly fight in one of those things was beyond Madara._

_Mito shook her head before narrowing her eyes at the Uchiha in front of her, said Uchiha still keeping a hold of Mito's arm._

_"What is this?" she questioned. "Some sort of genjutsu?"_

_Madara chuckled at hearing that. "No, this is not a genjutsu, Mito. It's reality. I really am here, standing before you with a proposition that I know that you will not refuse."_

_Now that caused Mito's curiosity to increase but didn't show it. She had always been a very curious woman, and while that could be a good things in some instances, this one could be a bad one. First, she needed more information. How and why Madara was here the way that he looked could be asked later._

_"Proposition?" she repeated with a raised eyebrow. "And just what exactly do you propose?"_

_Madara lowered the hand that he had used to stop Mito's arm with the kunai in hand and took a step back, crossing his arms in front of his chest._

_Mito for her part simply lowered her own arm as well but didn't lower her guard in case Madara tried something. She knew for a fact that she wouldn't stand a chance against the Uchiha, specially in her condition and old age. But dammit, she would not go down without a fight!_

_"My proposition is simple," said Madara, looking Mito straight in the eyes. "But first, I'm sure that you must already know as to what is going to happen in your home village…."_

_To this, Mito scowled furiously at Madara. "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked._

_Madara shook his head at hearing that. "A silly question, really. It has everything to do with all that is happening and going to happen."_

_Hearing this made Mito even more curious as well as a bit confused. What did Madara mean, saying 'all that is going to happen'?_

_Seeing all of this present on Mito's face made Madara smirk, if slightly. "I don't remember the last time that I've seen this look on your face, Mito. But then again, I can't blame you for wanting to know."_

_Mito could only scowl again. "Get to the point will you?"_

_Madara for his part simply took steps forward towards the window that Mito had previously been standing by, making Mito step to the side._

_Arriving at the window, it was Madara's turn to gaze out towards the Hokage Mountain, his arms still crossed._

_"Konoha knows about the attack on Uzu…." began Madara._

_"I know that," interrupted Mito with a frown. "Where do you think that I just came from?"_

_"From discussing this subject with the Sandaime," replied Madara with another light smirk on his face, not that Mito could see it._

_Mito nodded. "Exactly. So if that's all you wanted to say, then-"_

_"How stupid can you get, Mito?" interrupted Madara with a serious and disapproving tone._

_Mito's silence was her response._

_"Or rather yet, you already know what I truly meant and just choose to not accept it," stated Madara, turning around to look at Mito again. "I wonder why though….is it because of Hashirama?"_

_"Leave him out of this," replied Mito, looking at the ground. "He doesn't have anything to do with what is happening…."_

_Madara shook his head. "Not in your case," he stated before pausing. He then continued, "Since you don't want to admit the truth, I think I'll just say it for you: Konoha has known about the attack way before now. And you know what they could have done. Even now, there is still time, but you know as well as I do that that is not going to happen. I'm sure the Sandaime has already told you which is precisely what you were thinking before I got here, am I correct?"_

_Mito's lack of response was all the confirmation that Madara needed._

_"But this is where my proposition comes into play," continued Madara, making Mito raise her head to look at him._

_"What do you mean?" asked Mito, although she did suspect what Madara was truly going to propose._

_"Join me," answered Madara. "Join me, and you will have your revenge on this place."_

_Mito took a step back. "Join you? Do you actually expect for me to actually join in doing whatever it is that your plotting!? You're not exactly the most trustworthy person, Madara. Not only that, but I don't even know how you can even be standing here right now!"_

_'I guess I have no choice,' thought Madara, closing his eyes momentarily before opening them._

_What she saw made Mito gasp. "Impossible…." she muttered._

_Madara smirked, his rinnegan activated. "It's not, I assure you. But with this, you must know my true motive for having challenged Hashirama at the Valley of the End….."_

_"You wanted his powers," answered Mito, understanding beginning to enter her mind._

_Madara shook his head slightly. "I wanted more than just his powers. I also wanted his DNA….."_

_"WHAT!" exclaimed Mito in response._

_"It was necessary," responded Madara. "Without having done that, I would have never been able to get these eyes. And without these eyes, what I'm planning on doing would not be achievable."_

_"You…." said Mito with a frown on her face._

_"Enough about that," said Madara. "What you need to know is of a power that I have gained from possessing the rinnegan."_

_"A power?" repeated Mito with a raised eyebrow._

_Madara nodded his head. "Yes. And that is the power to see into future events."_

_Mito could only stare at Madara with a blank look on her face before responding, "Do you really expect for me to believe that?"_

_"I do," answered Madara. "How else is it that you think that I know all do this? As well as to the young Uzumaki that is coming here to be the next jinchuriki of the Kyuubi in a few days?"_

_'Kushina,' thought Mito, now alarmed. "How-"_

_"I've already told you," interrupted Madara, his rinnegan looking as if it glowed for a second. "It's all because of the power of the Rikudo Sennin."_

_Mito was silent yet again. It wasn't like she wasn't aware of what was truly happening. It was just like Madara had said-she just didn't want to admit it to herself. Konoha, the same village that her husband created for a sort of utopia, wasn't going to lift a finger to help the same people that had helped it so many times in the past. Add more fuel to the fire is the fact that they apparently had already known about this attack way before now if what Madara had just told her was true._

_But the question was: could she trust this man?_

_"I'm not asking for you to like me," began Madara, making Mito come out of her thoughts. "That thought is simply laughable. Not after everything that I have done. But what I'm telling you is the truth. Of course, even I'm partly at fault as to what is going to happen…."_

_Now that brought Mito to a halt. "What do you mean by that?" she asked._

_Madara could only sigh. "I'm the current Mizukage in Kiri for the moment."_

_Mito could only stare at Madara in shock yet again, something that had never happened in a single day before this._

_"I was the one who allowed for the spy that Konoha has in Kiri to pass the information back here. It was my way of offering some assistance as well as to see what this village would do in response," stated Madara._

_Mito shook her head. "Forget about that! If you're the Mizukage, you can put an end to all of this!"_

_Madara could only stare at the aged redhead in some amusement. "Don't be so foolish, Mito. Yes, I'm the Mizukage, but that's all I am. I don't have control of either Iwa or Kumo. Besides, what happens to Uzu is none of my concern."_

_"I thought as much," replied Mito with narrowed eyes. "You're just using this attack as a way to get me to join you in whatever it is that you're planning."_

_Madara nodded. "Yes. I'm not going to lie about that. That is precisely what I'm doing. But my hands are also tied in this. Things in Kiri aren't as stable as they are here. Everyone in the village feels that attacking and wiping out Uzu is the best course of action. If I were to not follow through…."_

_"Don't give me that nonsense," interrupted Mito with a scowl. "I know how powerful you are Madara. And now with the rinnegan, you might have already surpassed Hashirama as well. Taking care of a few rebels would be nothing to you."_

_"As I told you, things aren't as simple as that," responded Madara. "As of right now, I need to remain in the shadows. As far as the world is concern, Uchiha Madara is dead. I would like to keep that thought alive for the time being. A rebellion could easily force me to come out of the shadows and to reveal myself. And the consequences would be too great for me to do that right now."_

_"You're just looking out for yourself then," said Mito._

_Madara shrugged at this. "Perhaps I am. But is Konoha any better? At least I allowed for this place, the so called 'allies,' to know of the attack beforehand. And what did they do? Ignore it. What I did is far more than of what this place has done, and you know it."_

_Mito could stand there in silence, knowing that what Madara said is true. But that didn't mean that she liked it._

_"You're still the same as ever," commented Mito with another frown._

_"I could say the same to you," replied Madara. "But are you willing to join me?"_

_Mito opened her mouth to respond before closing it, not knowing what to say now. Doubt had started to enter her mind. She already knew that everything Madara had just said was true. Add to the fact that Madara did try to help the Uzumaki clan in his own way. Madara wasn't the kind of person that would help out anyone other than an Uchiha. But with Izuna gone as well as his clan abandoning him, Mito doubted that there was anyone present in the Uchiha clan that he would help now._

_'It's just him manipulating me,' thought Mito. 'He said it himself. He doesn't care about Uzu. But why should he? But Konoha…..'_

_"I…." began Mito, pausing as an image of Hashirama entered her mind before continuing, "I can't give you an answer right now…."_

_Madara simply stared at her in silence for a few moments before nodding. "I don't blame you. I would have been suspicious if you would have said yes instantly. Hashirama created this place after all."_

_Madara then made to walk to the door. Mito could only stare at the Uchiha's back._

_Madara's hand reached the doorknob of the door and was about to turn it before stopping as Mito spoke._

_"What exactly do you plan on doing?" she asked him in a low tone._

_Madara didn't respond to her instantly, making Mito wonder is he was going to answer her at all._

_"I can't tell you that just yet," answered Madara after a pause. He then turned his head back to glance at the redhead. "I will tell you though that the next host of the Kyuubi is crucial to my plans."_

_'Kushina,' thought Mito. 'But what does she have to do with this? She's just a child!'_

_"Don't ask me," stated Madara before she could question him, turning his back on Mito again. "Once you have agreed to join me, I will tell you everything that you need to know."_

_"What makes you so certain that I will?" asked Mito but knew that that was a stupid question._

_Madara simply smirked. "The fact that you are simply thinking about it tells me all that I need to know."_

_With that, Madara opened the door and walked out, closing the door afterwards._

_Mito could only stare at the closed door in silence and once more turned to look at the Hokage Mountain and the village below._

_'What am I going to?' she asked herself, but she pretty much knew the answer to that._

**Flashback: End!**

* * *

><p>It would have been a few days after that that Madara would return, and Mito would have given Madara her final answer and confirmation. Of course Mito had already begun to do her own preparations as well.<p>

'And they seem to have all worked out,' thought Mito with a small chuckle before focusing once more on all the men that were sitting around the table.

They were all the last remaining wealthiest men in Ame, but that wasn't saying much. Pain had controlled all militaristic aspects of the village so the only ones left that could take any type of control of the village were the nobles.

'Roshi and Han should be done by now,' thought Mito.

In the next moment, an explosion could be heard somewhere within the building, making the men within the room to all pause in their plans as to what to do exactly with the village.

'Right on time,' thought Mito with a small chuckle before signaling to Fuka who was on the other side of the room, also hiding behind one of the many pillars. None of the men present were shinobi neither were there any shinobi present besides Mito and Fuka, so hiding wasn't that hard.

Seeing Fuka ready, Mito appeared right on top of the circular table the next moment, Fuka right on her side and making all the nobles present stare at them both in surprise.

"Who the hell are you two?" asked one of them with wide eyes.

Mito could only smirk lightly in response. "Why, I'm glad you asked…."

* * *

><p>Naruto simply stared at the Rikudo Sennin, looking straight into his rinnegan eyes.<p>

**"Well, this is a surprise,"** commented the Shinigami as he glanced at the Sennin. **"I didn't expect for you to show up. I thought that you had told him everything that you wanted to."**

"That was before this," responded the Rikudo Sennin, glancing at the god of death. "I didn't think that you would actually tell him all that happened in the past after all."

The Shinigami stayed silent, not bothering to respond.

"So it was true then," muttered Naruto, catching the Sennin's attention.

Fu for her part just merely watched everything happen in front of her.

"Yes, it was true," stated the Sennin. "Humanity unleashed the very being that nearly wiped them out. If it weren't for certain countermeasures, who knows what would have become of the human race. Would we be like we are today? Or just simply been wiped out by the Juubi?"

"I take it that one of those 'countermeasures' was you," said Naruto, making the Sennin look at him with no surprise.

"Yes, you're correct," responded the Sennin. "Of course I didn't complete my purpose. Well, not entirely at least."

"Peace," said Naruto in a whisper, having guessed what the Sennin was saying that he had failed at doing.

The Sennin nodded. "Yes, you're correct again. Teaching humanity how to harness and use that hidden power within them as well as to stop the Juubi….I succeeded in both of them. But not my third objective and that was to actually bring peace to the human race as it once was in the past except without all that technology this time. But with something better. But like you already know and stated, I failed."

'More like humanity failed you,' thought Naruto but didn't say it out loud.

**"You've always been bitter about that,"** muttered the Shinigami.

But the Sennin didn't hear him or didn't bother to comment on it. Instead, he continued, "Like I have already told you, I was hoping for both of my sons to accomplish what I could not. But that failed as well, causing for my own descendants to bring even more hatred to the world than that that already existed. But now there is you…."

"And like I have already told you, I'm not interested in peace," interrupted Naruto with a shake of his head. "Everything that I have done to this point, what I'm planning on doing, it should show you that what I'm doing is the exact opposite of what you want."

"I already told you this, but peace can be brought about in many different ways," retorted the Sennin. "Not only that, but because of the circumstances that have been created, my remaining descendants have been united through you."

Naruto remained silent at hearing that, knowing it to be true.

"And of those beings that did this was you," said the Sennin, looking at the Shinigami.

The Shinigami chuckled. **"I was just interested. Who you should be thanking is that Uchiha."**

"Madara," said Naruto, remembering that said Uchiha had told Mito exactly what had happened with Uzu who in turn told Kurama who in turn told him, making him be in the situation that he currently was.

"He only did what he did because you told him that his plan was doomed to fail," stated the Sennin.

**"Alright then, you got me,"** said the Shinigami but didn't comment any further.

"What exactly is Madara's motive for doing what he did?" asked Naruto, making the Sennin turn to look at him again. "I find it hard to believe that he did all that he has done for this just for revenge on the Uchiha clan for having abandoning him."

"In a way it's the same as that of the person that you knew as Tobi," answered the Sennin in a soft tone. "Madara lost everything during the era of the Clan Wars. All of his brothers were killed. And what did they die for? Nothing. Eventually he himself began to just act like everyone else. Just trying to survive and protect his clan. That is until he and Senju Hashirama established the village that you know today as Konoha. He did this because he actually wanted the same thing as Hashirama-peace. But then he saw the reality of things just like I have. That solution was not really a solution. It just delayed the cycle of hatred and wars. So he decided to take a different route than Hashirama had. Was it any better? No, but he was simply following what he thought was right. That is until he learned that you would stop him from doing this."

"What?" said Naruto with a surprise look. "Since when would I-"

"This is just one path of the many paths that you could have taken, Naruto," interrupted the Sennin with a sigh. "Is this any better than the one that you were meant to take? That answer would be a matter of perspective."

'I see,' thought Naruto.

"That is Madara's motive," stated the Sennin, containing with his explanation. "It is a noble one, although his actions indicate otherwise."

"I understand then," said Naruto.

"But his role is at an end," continued the Sennin walking forward until he was right in front of Naruto. "His role was simply to prepare the path for you, to show it to you. But now it is up to you to walk upon it like you have and to put an end to all of this. That is your role."

'It really was half and half,' thought Naruto with an internal chuckle, remembering what he had said to Madara when they had fought in the Land of Iron.

"Of course, you will encounter obstacles that will try to stop you, one greater than the rest. And I'm sure that you know as to whom I'm talking about," said the Sennin.

Naruto simply nodded at that, remembering his freed counterpart.

"There is just one more thing to add in all of this," said the Sennin, before pausing. He then raised his head, a smile gracing his lips. "It really is good to see you two again, Kurama, Chomei."

Said bijuus both appeared behind their respective hosts.

"Chomei!" exclaimed Fu in surprise at seeing her bijuu outside of the seal and into the real world. Wait, was this the real world? Or just an illusion one? The mint haired jinchuriki didn't know the answer to that question.

Kurama chuckled as he looked at his creator. **"It sure has been awhile, old man…."**

Chomei stayed quite, simply looking at the Rikudo Sennin.

"Well, you two have sure grown," commented the Sennin, the smile still on his face. "I take it that the rest of your brothers are fine as well?"

Kurama simply nodded.

"That's good to hear," he said before focusing his attention back to Naruto. "Now, there is just one more thing that you need to know before you continue down your path and to finish all of this."

Naruto raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

**'Is he going to tell him **_**that**_**?'** thought the Shinigami, watching all of this.

"You already know as to whom my father was," began the Sennin. "I'm not sure as to why he was chosen to be my father or as to why he was the first human to be able to effectively use chakra like he had. But that is how it is. I should tell you though that he died while trying to find a way to stop the Juubi. It was at that time that I acquired these eyes…."

The Sennin paused, then continued. "It was during one of my visits to his gravesite…."

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback: Start!<strong>

_One single child could be seen standing in front one of the many graves in one of the few remaining cemeteries in the world. With the outbreak of the Juubi, the destruction of cities came as well. All that people were concerned with was to get away from the beast and nothing more. They didn't have the time to bury the dead. It was only in stable locations that this could be possible. And locations where one was safe was rare as well._

_The child who looked no more than eight years old could be seen crying as he stared at the tombstone in front of him. He had managed to sneak out of his house to come here. He wouldn't have much time before his mother would notice his absence, but he just wanted to be here right now but by himself._

_'Why did you have to die?' he thought in both sadness and anger. Sadness for his father having died and anger for his father having left him as a result of his death._

_'If only you hadn't been so brave….'_

_**"Sad, are we child?"**_

_The boy jumped in surprise at hearing the voice and turned around to see a man standing there in a white cloak that covered his entire body as well as his face. He knew it was a man because of the voice. But even then, he could tell that this man wasn't a regular man. Just from his voice alone, the boy could tell that the man in front of him held great power._

_Finally focusing on the question that the man had asked him, the boy simply nodded. "Yes, I am…." he answered meekly._

_The man in front of him simply nodded. __**"And why is that?"**__ he asked in a soft tone._

_"Because my father died," the boy answered, looking around for a moment to see if anyone else was around. He knew that talking to a complete stranger wasn't a smart thing to do, so he was ready to run away at the moment he saw something suspicious._

_**"I see…"**__ said the man. __**"But you should know that death is a natural part of life. Everyone has to die someday."**_

_"I know that," replied the boy in slight irritation. Just because he was a kid didn't mean that he didn't understand some things. "But I just wanted for him to be with me longer than he was. For him to have seen me grow up."_

_The man chuckled at hearing that. __**"You're not an ordinary boy, are you?"**_

_"And you're not a regular old man, are you?" retorted the boy with a roll of his eyes._

_**"No, I suppose that I'm not,"**__ admitted the man with humor laced in his tone._

_The boy raised an eyebrow. "So? What do you want? I'm sure that it wasn't just to know as to why I was crying in front of a grave."_

_**"Smart, are you?"**__ said the man before his tone changed. __**"Yes, I'm here for something else."**_

_The boy took a step back as the air around the man began to change. "And?" said the boy, swallowing hard. "Why did you come here for then?"_

_**"To offer you a gift,"**__ answered the man, raising one of his hands and pointing it at the boy. __**"Well, offering is not really the right word. More like just simply giving it to you."**_

_The boy was confused as to what the man in front of him meant until he fell to his knees, holding his head in pain. "What is this!" screamed the boy. "What did you do to me!"_

_The man lowered his hand. __**"Like I told you, I have given you a gift. I know that you will put it to good use. To correct the damage that your father accidentally caused."**_

_The boy couldn't question the man as to what he meant by that, the pain in his head getting stronger. Not only that, but his vision began to change as well as started to become blurry._

_Seeing the boy about to lose consciousness, the man simply tuned around and began to walk away._

_**"Until we meet again, boy…."**_

_That was the last thing that the boy heard before falling to the ground, unconscious. It would be hours until his mother found him._

**Flashback: End!**

* * *

><p>"The next morning when I woke up, these eyes were there with me now," said the Sennin before chuckling. "Imagine my surprise from going from having normal brown eyes to having gray ones with a ringed pattern on them."<p>

Naruto merely remained silent, letting the Rikudo Sennin contiune with his story.

The Sennin then shrugged slightly. "There's not much to tell after that. My mother and I had to leave our home. Everyone there thought that I was cursed by the Juubi. Ridiculous, isn't it? But at that time, people would turn to things like that to explain things that they could not understand. We were constantly on the move afterwards. Really, if it wasn't for my mother, I would have probably gone crazy….."

An image of Kushina entered Naruto's mind before he dismissed it. He could relate to the Sennin in that regard if only slightly.

"It was during that time that I began to see that my new eyes were more than just a different color and a weird sight. They helped me to do things that no human could as well as enhanced my vision beyond imaginary," said the Sennin.

He then continued. "So I began to train with them. I didn't know it at the time, but I somehow already knew how to control them. All I had to do was master it, experiment, and improve. That's also the time when the Shinigami also appeared before me, making a contract with me as well as with anyone else that possessed these eyes."

Said being didn't comment on this.

'The summoning jutsu,' thought Naruto.

"It wasn't long before I became the person that I am today," continued the Sennin. "And the rest is history. I stopped the Juubi in the only way that it could and that was to seal it. So I did. But instead of doing in the manner that it had once been sealed, I decided to seal it within myself. Now, history couldn't repeat itself. I corrected the mistake that my father committed. And you already know as to what happened afterwards."

Naruto could only absorb everything that he had been told. Now everything made sense. He had all the pieces of the puzzle and that was exactly what he wanted all along.

"The last thing that you need to know will probably be the most shocking to you, but you need to know it," said the Sennin, catching Naruto's attention.

"And that is?" asked Naruto.

"The reason why you were chosen at all," responded the Sennin. "It's all very simple. It's the reason as to why you're the completion of what I started. Of what I couldn't complete. It's also one of the reasons why I named you my true successor as well."

Naruto simply stood there, waiting for the Sennin to tell him what he wanted to tell him.

**'Here it comes,'** thought the Shinigami with an internal chuckle.

Kurama turned to look at Naruto's back, already having a clue as to what the Sennin wanted to say.

The Sennin was silent for a few moments before saying what changed Naruto's world forever.

"You are my reincarnation."

* * *

><p>Neji glanced out the window that he was currently leaning on, looking over to where the village was almost completely rebuilt. It was outstanding to believe that in just a few days, the entire village had almost been entirely rebuilt. Of course, the work had been going on throughout both the day and night. It just showed how desperate the higher ups were to finish constructing the village. And Neji knew the reason to that.<p>

'War…..'

Naruto had already told Neji that war would be the end result. That would be where things would end once and for all.

'That's also where I'll get my revenge,' thought Neji.

Konoha had already been preparing itself as well on orders from Tsunade. And preparations were almost complete as well. But of course, it would all be hopeless in the end. Neji was confident that they would come out victorious at the end. The scenario that Naruto had built, mainly getting almost all of the major villages against Konoha, was truly a great strategy in Neji's mind.

'Konoha doesn't stand a chance,' thought Neji with a small smirk on his face.

The door opening behind him caused Neji to come out of his thoughts.

"Neji-nii-san."

Turning around towards the door, Neji saw Hinata walking through the door and closing it behind her. She then proceeded to walk towards _her_ desk that was next to where Neji was currently standing by the window. This was, after all, _her_ office.

Hinata's outfit had also changed from when she had defeated Hanabi and had become the new clan head of the Hyuuga. Her new outfit consisted of a bluish-purplish mini skirt with slight openings on both of the sides, black shinobi sandals with protective plates on the lower part of her legs mainly her ankles, a white cape with light purple swirls all around her upper back, a fitted mesh suit on her upper body accompanied with a bra on top that matched the color of her mini skirt, leaving her stomach area exposed, and tightly white wrapped bandages around both of her wrists. Her hair was now done in a tight ponytail that still reached all the way down, almost to her now round visible bottom. Her Konoha headband was now located around her waist.

Neji had already gotten used to the 'new' Hinata. But not everybody else. They were still trying to wrap their heads around the fact that this was Hinata. The only thing that hadn't changed was the fact that she still called him 'Neji-nii-san.' Not that he cared.

Hinata sat down on the chair that had once belonged to her father whom she had killed a couple of days earlier and leaned back.

"What are you doing up so late?" she asked Neji without turning to look at him.

The fact that she also never stuttered was also something else that Neji had come to terms with. Now, if she wouldn't stutter if Naruto was around…..that was something that Neji would have to wait and see.

"I could ask you the same thing," retorted Neji, turning his attention back to the village that he had once been part of.

"It's those old fossils of the council," responded Hinata with a scoff. "Wanting to know this and that. They're getting on my nerves. Why is it that we have them again?"

"For advising I think," answered Neji with a small chuckle. He knew that he was referring to clan of elders of the Hyuuga clan. Never would he have thought that he would be having this conversation with Hinata of all people.

"Well, they're useless," said Hinata with a wave of her hand. "When do you think that Naruto-kun will return here?"

Neji raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of topic, not that Hinata could see this. "Once the war starts. You should know this by now."

That was true. Neji had filled Hinata in with everything that was going to happen and the role that she was going to play in all of it.

"I know, I know," said Hinata with a sigh. "I just want to see him…."

'How the hell does he do it?' wondered Neji to himself. 'Before, no one else besides Hinata was interested in him! And now he has girls flocking out of every corner!' Both Fu and Anko came to Neji's mind when he thought of this. And who knew if there were more?

Neji simply sighed before making his way out of Hinata's new office. Kami, now that was something that he still hadn't gotten used to.

"Can I ask you something, Neji-nii-san?" said Hinata, making Neji stop in front of the door out of the office.

"What is it?" asked Neji without turning to look at her.

Hinata was silent for a few moments before asking the question that had been plaguing her mind for quite some time. "Just why is it that you decided to join Naruto-kun?"

Hinata knew why she was here, in the position that she was. And that was because she loved Naruto. But Neji….as far as she could see, there was no reason for him to be following Naruto. Not that she minded the fact that he was here. But she was still curious.

"Because he promised me two things that I could not turn down," responded Neji without turning around.

Hinata raised an eyebrow at this. "And those are?"

"Truth and revenge."

With that, Neji opened the door and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

Hinata could stare at the spot where her cousin had stood a few moments earlier.

* * *

><p>"….."<p>

"Is that your response?"

Naruto could only sigh patiently, completely the opposite of what the Sennin had expected him to do.

"At this point, anything is possible to me," stated Naruto with a small grin. "Every revelation that I have come to know of….why should I freak out now?"

"Because you _are_ me," replied the Sennin. "Well, a part of me at least."

"You mean your soul," guessed Naruto, making the Sennin nod.

"Indeed. It's the reason why you adapted to my power so quickly as well as surviving. Others would have simply have died or been incapacitated for months. But not you. Your body accepted it as if it were its own energy which in a sense, it is. And you grew even more powerful as a result."

"I've seen…." said Naruto with a small chuckle.

**'Kyuubi already knew of this,'** thought Chomei, glancing at the calm looking bijuu. It was as if he had expected it. **'Once the others find out...'**

Fu for her part could only stare at Naruto in wonder, not truly expecting everything that she had just learned. Not that anyone could blame her really.

"Is that all?" asked Naruto.

The Sennin nodded. "It is. Everything that you wanted to know, you now know it. The question is, what will you do now?"

"Exactly what I have been planning on doing," answered Naruto calmly. "All of this changes nothing. I was simply just tired of all the mystery game that had been playing around me. Did you really expect that any of this would change me?"

"Hmm…." hummed the Sennin. "No, I really didn't…."

"There you have it then," replied Naruto. "I don't know exactly how you expect for what you want to be achieved through what I'm doing, but it doesn't matter. I'm still moving forward."

"Good answer," said the Sennin will a small grin on his face. "When the time comes, you will know as to what I mean. Good luck, Uzumaki Naruto."

With that, the Rikudo Sennin disappeared but not before sending both Kurama and Chomei a small wave with his free hand.

**"There you have it then,"** said the Shinigami as everything around both Naruto and Fu began to change again.

Looking around, both jinchuriki found themselves within the almost collapsed mansion in Uzu that they had been in before they had gone back into the past. Both Kurama and Chomei were no longer present behind them either.

Naruto turned his back on the god of death. "You…why exactly did you offer the Rikudo Sennin that contract? What did you have to gain?"

The Shinigami chuckled. **"It's simple. I've already told you that I have never truly gotten involved in the affairs that the other gods do as well as the fact that I bend the rules that are placed upon us all the time. That offer is a combination of the two. I now have a front row seat in all of the historic changes that are currently happening as well as being responsible for some. The fact that I get a few extra souls as a reward is just a bonus."**

The Shinigami laughed for the first time as he started to disappear.

**"Do put a good ending to this story will you, Uzumaki?"**

With that, the god of death disappeared completely.

Fu stared at the spot where the Shinigami had been for a few moments before turning her attention to Naruto. "What now?" she asked him.

Naruto turned his head to look up at the sky to see that a few stars were still present.

"Now, it is the beginning of the end….."

* * *

><p>Anko walked through the many corridors of the now newly rebuilt prison in Konoha. She was just simply strolling through the corridor with many cells present, passing the time. She couldn't sleep. She was just too excited! Soon, everything would be over with. And she could be with Naruto for the rest of her life without any interruptions.<p>

Anko didn't know how the gaki had done it, but he gave her what she had always wanted. And that was to be with someone that both understood her and wanted to be with her as well with having known everything that she was.

That was why she had agreed to follow him as well as help him with his goal after all.

'Even at the sacrifice of my 'friends,' thought Anko as Kurenai, Hana, and Yugao came to her mind before shaking them away. They didn't matter. Not anymore. She had already made her choice, and she was going to see it through no matter what. Even if they did fail.

But for now, she needed to keep suspicion away from Hinata. If Shikaku or Ibiki found out that Hinata was the one that had killed Hiashi, there was a chance that the girl would talk and rat out both her and Neji. And that would be an inconvenience that Naruto had already stated that he did not want to deal with.

'Not that I can blame him,' thought Anko.

In her opinion, they should just simply kill the Hyuuga girl. She was too much of a pain in the ass in Anko's opinion. Of course if they did kill Hinata, that would bring another set of problems as Neji had already pointed out to her so many times before. So for the time being, that option was off the table.

Anko suddenly stopped walking and discretely took out a kunai from within her coat.

"You know, sneaking up on me is not really a good idea," said Anko with a feral grin on her face.

She heard chuckling from behind her, causing her to turn around to look at whoever the owner was. And it was the last person that she wanted to see.

It was none other than Kabuto.

"You," said Anko, annoyance clearly present in her voice. "What are you doing here? Is Tsunade back already?"

Kabuto chuckled again he readjusted his glasses. "So you don't know yet, do you? Which means that I beat her here. Well, that simplifies things, doesn't it?"

Anko was about to tell him to fuck off when her vision began to get blurry. She stumbled for a few moments before glaring at the smirking Kabuto. "You…what did you do to me?"

Kabuto merely shrugged. "Nothing. You just simply inhaled an odorless and tasteless knockout gas. One that not even Orochimaru-sama had a resistant for."

Anko could only scowl at this information before she fell to her knees, dropping the kunai that she had held on the ground. She noticed that all of the prisoners present were already unconscious.

"They won't remember a thing when they wake up," said Kabuto as he walked towards her, referring to the unconscious prisoners. "It would be too much of a hassle if they did."

Anko could glare at Kabuto before she too fell into the deep darkness that was unconsciousness.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**I know that I'm extremely late with this chapter considering as to how I had been updating, but I've got a lot of things going on in my life right now that I just didn't have much time to update until now. So….here you go.**

**A lot of things have happened in this chapter, all leading up to the finale. And yes, sadly this story is almost over. Just a few more things that need to happen. I must say though that I have really enjoyed writing this. And I'll be honest that when I first started writing this, I didn't think it would be this well liked. That being said, I appreciate all those of you that have stayed and have continued to read this.**

**The only other thing that I have to say is that my theory was confirmed. I won some money as a result. And to those that think that that is not much, well I'm broke right now so I needed money. And you can guess what the theory is. (Hint: it has to do with the latest chapter in the manga.)**

**Oh, and to the person that brought this up, yes there was no moon until the Rikudo Sennin created it with the Juubi's body. I didn't put it in the story because….well I don't know why.**

**So yeah, that does it for me. Any questions, feel free to ask.**

**Till next time.**


	48. Preparations For War pt IV

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, Holographic Form, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 47:<br>Preparations For War pt. IV**

Mikoto sat quietly and merely stared at the moving water within the small stream before her, an unreadable look on her face at the moment.

Sasuke was a few feet away behind her, leaning against a tree with his eyes closed.

Neither said a word to each other. Not that they needed to. They simply enjoyed the company of each other, something that neither thought would be possible again. Not even Mikoto. Especially with everything that was currently taking place.

'But this is almost over now,' thought Mikoto, still gazing at the moving water in silence.

'Funny,' she thought with an internal smile, 'I never thought that things would actually end this way. Although, I would have preferred if some things had happened differently.' An image of Itachi came to her mind at this thought.

She had buried her pain deep within herself when Itachi had sacrificed himself to help Sasuke obtain the eternal mangekyo. But in a way, it had also made her very happy.

'Itachi could never have gone against Konoha,' thought Mikoto with a small and silent sigh. 'He still cared for it, even after what he went through and what they did to Kushina. Allowing for Sasuke to fight him and hopefully defeat him was the only way that he could have helped us….you were such a fool, Itachi. But you were also my son.'

Sasuke glanced at his mother's back momentarily before closing his eyes yet again. He could tell that something was troubling her but decided against asking her. He knew for a fact that she wouldn't tell him what she was thinking of if she didn't want to, even if he asked. That was just how she was.

"Well, would you look at that! It sure has been a while, you two!"

Sasuke sighed as White Zetsu appeared from within the ground next to him, a small grin on his face.

Mikoto turned her head back to glance at him. "You….I thought that you were in Ame with Mito….?"

"I was, but it wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be," answered White Zetsu with a chuckle.

'This guy has problems,' thought Sasuke.

"I see…." said Mikoto, turning her back on White Zetsu.

"And you?" asked White Zetsu. "What exactly are you doing at the moment?"

Before Mikoto could answer, a vortex appeared right beside her. A few moments later, one Uchiha Obito appeared, rubbing the back of his head as well.

Mikoto sighed while shaking her head. "And here I was enjoying my peace and quiet in the early morning," she muttered while standing up, stretching her arms for a bit.

Hearing her last comment made the newly arrived Obito shrugged. "I'm sorry?" he said with no real meaning behind it.

"Just forget it," said Mikoto with a sigh, crossing her arms under her bigger than average chest. "So? What are you doing here?"

Obito smirked at his fellow Uchiha member. "What? Didn't you miss me? I mean, I have been gone for quite a while after all…."

Mikoto simply stared at him with a blank look on her face.

Obito t'ched at this. "You know, you're no fun at all, Mikoto. Even after you've gotten laid by-"

"Finish that statement and consider your balls gone, Obito," interrupted Mikoto with narrowed eyes.

Listening to this made Sasuke narrow his eyes as well but didn't comment.

White Zetsu merely chuckled as he watched all of this occur.

Obito placed both of his arms behind his head and turned away from the angry looking Mikoto. "Whatever. I'm just simply curious as to why you're just sitting here doing nothing. I mean, isn't the war suppose to start soon or something?" said Obito with a curious look on his face.

"The Raikage is on his way to Kumo along with both of his shinobi," replied Mikoto while looking back at the running stream of water.

"And the jinchuriki?" asked Obito with a raised eyebrow.

Mikoto tilted her head to the forest that stood behind the tree that Sasuke was currently leaning on. "They're over there along with Sasu-chan's little group for the moment, just simply waiting right now."

'Sasu-chan's' eyebrows twitched in annoyance at that.

"I'm surprise the Raikage agreed to that…." muttered Obito.

Mikoto smirked. "He didn't. He's still under my genjutsu if you haven't forgotten."

"Oh yeah," said Obito with a chuckle. "I almost forgot about that."

"I just don't feel like going back to Kumo any more," stated Mikoto. "They're usefulness is almost at an end after all. But there is a small problem though…."

Obito raised an eyebrow for a second time. "And what problem is that?"

Mikoto closed her eyes for a moment before answering, "It's that shinobi that's apparently Kumo's best at the moment. Darui, I think his name is. It seems that he's getting suspicious that the Raikage is not himself."

Obito rubbed his chin in contemplation at hearing this latest information. "Now that is a problem. If Kumo found out that their Raikage is being controlled, it could pose a big problem for us."

"The good news though is that he doesn't have any solid proof of this yet though, even if it is true," continued Mikoto with a smirk.

"Sill, this could become more troublesome," replied Obito with a sigh.

"We just need to make sure that he doesn't find any solid evidence until the war is finished with," retorted Mikoto. She then shrugged. "After that, Kumo will be nothing to us any longer."

'She's referring to the incident with Kushina,' thought Obito, remembering when Kumo had tried to kidnap Kushina in the past. 'I wonder though….does Naruto know of it?'

"Then what will you do for the time being?" asked White Zetsu.

"Wait for all the others to be ready," answered Mikoto.

"I see…." said Obito, turning to glance at Sasuke for the moment before starting to walk away. "Do tell me when everything is ready then, would you?" he said, throwing back a small wave with his hand behind him.

Mikoto didn't respond as Obito disappeared with his teleportation jutsu.

'I wonder,' thought Mikoto with narrowed eyes, 'just what have you been up to, Obito?'

Before she could contemplate this further, a vibration from her right side of her hip caught her attention, making her smile.

'So he found it….'

Reaching for the small round disk, Mikoto held it in front of her with her hand as a holographic figure appeared on it.

**"I must say, Mikoto, how you placed this thing on me, I'll probably never know…."**

Recognizing the voice, Mikoto immediately smirked and threw the holographic figure a wink. "It's a secret."

Sasuke could only shake his head. 'So she got the dobe too, eh? She sure is sneaky.'

Naruto's holographic form could only sigh. **"How did you know that I would find it?"** he asked.

Mikoto continued to smirk. "Call it a woman's intuition," she answered.

Naruto shook his head. **"In any case, this simply makes things easier. I have something for you to do for me, Mikoto."**

Mikoto raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

**"I need for you to attack Konoha,"** stated Naruto with an unreadable tone.

That statement caused different reactions. Mikoto for her part simply stared at Naruto's figure on the small disc with a calm look on her face. White Zetsu made an 'o' shape with his mouth, surprise clearly present in his face. And Sasuke….

'About damn time!' thought Sasuke with an eager look on his face. This is what he had been waiting for. Now that Danzo was dead, that only left the other two elders. Well them, and the rest of the Konoha as well.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Mikoto with an emotionless tone in her voice.

Naruto nodded. **"Yeah, I am. Take the army that Kumo has prepared. It will be more than enough. Kiri will be used in case Suna or even Iwa tries to join in."**

"What's with the sudden change in plan?" asked Mikoto, not sure if rushing things would be for the best.

Naruto was silent for a few moments before responding, **"There is just something that I need to confirm as soon as possible. And Konoha has the answer, somewhere. I just need to find it."**

"By attacking it?" questioned Mikoto.

Naruto shrugged. **"I'll admit it, I'm also getting kind of impatient. I've stalled long enough. But like I've said, I need to confirm something. That is all."**

"I see…." said Mikoto, closing her eyes and nodding. "I understand then. It will be done."

Naruto nodded as well before the his image on the disk disappeared. Mikoto then placed the disc back to where it had been before.

"Now that is quite a surprise," said White Zetsu with a chuckle.

"But it's a good one," retorted Sasuke as he walked forward until he was in front of his mother. "Shall we get started?"

Mikoto glanced at her son and smirked. "Yeah, we shall…."

White Zetsu chuckled once more. 'It seems that I was right in coming here after all….'

* * *

><p><strong>"This place brings back memories, doesn't it?"<strong>

Obito chuckled as he looked at the waterfall running in front of him from his spot on top of Madara's head. "Not really. I rather forgot them all…."

Black Zetsu glanced to his side to look at the sitting Obito who had one leg hanging off the edge of Madara's head.

**"That is unfortunate then,"** said Black Zetsu.

Obito didn't respond to that. He merely sat there in silence at the same spot where Madara and Hashirama had once fought many years ago.

**"What will you do with Kakashi?"**

Obito glanced at Black Zetsu before turning his gaze back to the waterfall. "Why does that matter to you?" he questioned.

Black Zetsu merely shrugged. **"Curiosity, I suppose."**

Obito grinned slightly before it vanished. "Don't worry about that. I will kill him when he's no longer useful to me, if that's what you're asking."

Black Zetsu didn't respond.

Obito turned to look towards the rising sun. "I just need something from him. And once I get it, I will kill him. That is all there is to it. I no longer consider him my comrade. That thought has been dead ever since I decided to join Madara."

**"I thought all you wanted was your eye,"** commented Black Zetsu.

'That was just half of the truth,' thought Obito but didn't say it out loud. Instead, he remained quiet.

Seeing that Obito wasn't going to answer, Black Zetsu started to retreat back into the ground.

**"I hope that you don't start to have any doubts about what you have chosen, Obito."**

With that, Black Zetsu disappeared completely into the ground.

'Doubt?' thought Obito with a frown as he closed his eyes. A few moments later, he smirked darkly, opening his eyes as well. His mangekyo spun wildly.

'I don't regret a single thing….'

* * *

><p>Kushina currently stood by the rail in front of one of the many ships in Kiri's navy, the only military navy in the entire Elemental Nations. The navy was currently stationed in one of the many harbors in Kiri for the moment. About half of Kiri's army would be transported by the navy while the rest would travel by land. It would be too risky if the whole army traveled together after all. The army's manpower would be split, true. But it would have to be done this way.<p>

Kushina looked down at the water to see her own reflection reflected back at her. The face that she saw was currently frowning.

And why was that? She didn't really know the answer to that, although she already knew the answer in a way. It dealt with Naruto, her son. That much was obvious to her.

But it didn't answer the question entirely.

Kushina sighed. 'I'm just too overprotective,' she thought. 'He's no longer a kid that needs babysitting. He's already shown me multiple of times that he can take care of himself. And yet….'

"Troubled, are you?"

Startled, Kushina looked behind her to see a solemn looking Terumi Mei.

'I didn't sense her,' thought Kushina. 'But then again, I was probably to engrossed in my own thoughts.'

Finally paying attention to what she had just been asked, Kushina nodded. "Yes, I am."

Mei simply nodded as she walked forward until she was right beside her fellow redhead. "I take it that it has something to do with your son…."

Kushina could only look at Mei in surprise. "How did you know?"

Mei chuckled and shrugged slightly. "It doesn't take more than a few minutes of seeing you two together for a person to realize that you care for him deeply."

"I'm that obvious then," muttered Kushina with a small grin.

Mei glanced at Kushina. "I'm not judging you either. I have no right to do that. What you choose to do is entirely up to you. But I find myself curious…." Mei then smirked. "Just how did you end up falling for your own son?"

Despite her wishes, Kushina felt her face heat up. "W-why do you want to know something like that?" she asked, mentally cursing herself for the slip up.

Mei simply shrugged again. "Like I've said, I'm curious."

Kushina turned her face away from the giddy looking Mizukage. She was silent for a few moments, making Mei think that she wasn't going to answer her.

"I don't know…." finally answered Kushina with a sigh. "That's just how things turned out. In the beginning, our relationship was nothing more than that of a mother and son. But as time went on, I felt myself start thinking of him as more than a son. Maybe it's just of how we were separated for almost sixteen years. That me and him never did develop a true mother-son relationship."

"Do you regret your choice?" asked Mei with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I don't," answered Kushina without missing a heartbeat. "I can honestly say that it's the best choice that I've made in my life."

"There you have it then," said Mei with a smile. "If that's how you feel, then don't look so down. I'm sure that Naruto must feel the same way. Just stop worrying too much. Simply go with the flow. That's the easiest way and perhaps the least painful."

'Just go with the flow,' repeated Kushina within her mind. 'I suppose that that shouldn't be too difficult….'

"So this is where you were."

Both Kushina and Mei turned around to see an approaching Yagura.

"What is it?" asked Mei.

"The final preparations have been finished," answered Yagura as he stopped in front of both of the redheads. "The army is now ready and at your disposal."

Mei nodded, obviously pleased to hear that. "Well done. I suppose that all that's needed now is for Kumo to give the signal, or should I say Naruto."

"I don't think that you will have to wait long," commented Kushina with a thoughtful look. "I'm sure that everyone else feels the same way. That it's the time to get started."

Before either Mei or Yagura could reply, Kushina reached into one of her pockets in her jacket, taking out a small round disc in the process that was currently vibrating.

"This is…" muttered Kushina.

Yagura chuckled at watching this. 'So she got Kushina-san too, eh? Really, how does she do it!'

A waving figure appeared on the disc the next second. **"Hello Kushina!"**

Recognizing the voice, Kushina raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Mikoto….when did you-"

**"Don't worry about that,"** interrupted Mikoto with a wave of her hand. **"I'm sure that you must know that a woman must have **_**some**_** secrets. It's what keeps life interesting after all."**

Kushina chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I suppose you're right about that…."

Mikoto also chuckled for a moment before turning serious. **"Naruto has already told me what he wants for us to do…."**

Now that statement brought the curiosity forward of all those that were present.

"And that is?" asked Mei with a questioning look.

Mikoto was silent for a moment before responding, **"He wants for Kumo to invade Konoha…."**

"What!" exclaimed Kushina. "Why so so soon!?"

Mikoto shrugged. **"I don't know. All he told me was that there is something that he wants to confirm….whatever that means."**

Kushina was silent at that. She too didn't know what Naruto had meant by saying that. Just what did he want to confirm?

'What did you do, Naruto-kun?' she wondered to herself, remembering how he had said that there was something that he needed to do.

"And what of Kiri?" asked Mei, making Kushina come out of her thoughts.

**"You're backup in case either Suna or Iwa interferes,"** answered Mikoto in an even tone.

"So we're not to join in then," commented Yagura with a frown.

**"I wouldn't be too sure about that,"** retorted Mikoto. **"I'm sure that, at the very least, Suna will interfere. Especially with the Kazekage that they have at the moment."**

"I see your point," muttered Yagura.

"Is that all?" asked Mei.

Mikoto nodded. **"Yes, it is. Make sure that you're ready at the moments notice. It's critical that we don't fail here…"**

"We'll be waiting," stated Mei with conviction.

Mikoto didn't respond. She simply sent Kushina one final glance before her holographic image on the disc disappeared.

Mei turned around to face Yagura. "Have the ground forces move to the border at once. I'm sure that it won't take long for the forces in Kumo to began their attack. We need to be ready at once."

Yagura nodded. "I understand." With that, he walked away, intent on carrying his orders from Mei. Now that was something that Yagura had never expected to do.

'I suppose things really do change,' thought Yagura with a chuckle as he walked away.

Mei turned to look at the quiet and slightly troubled Kushina. "It seems that it is time…."

Kushina glanced at Mei for a moment, slightly nodding. "Yeah, I suppose that you're right…."

Mei tilted her head towards one of the doors on the ship. "C'mon, I wouldn't mind getting some advice for our battle plan."

Kushina didn't respond. She merely wordlessly followed behind the female Mizukage, many questions plaguing her mind at the moment.

* * *

><p>Tsunade scowled as she marched through one of the many halls within the Hokage tower, heading towards her office.<p>

Behind her trailed a worried looking Shizune and a calm looking Shikaku and Ibiki.

"So you're telling me that there is more to Naruto killing Hiashi?" questioned Tsunade with a frown on her face. "That the gaki didn't do it just for the hell of it?"

"We believe so," answered Shikaku. "After all, someone obviously went through the trouble of making sure that we couldn't see as to what exactly happened that night. And they went through a lot of trouble to do so."

"It's an unknown," continued Ibiki, handing Tsunade a small set of documents.

Tsunade quickly scanned through all the pages, reading its contents.

"We haven't figured out as to what exactly it is as of yet," said Ibiki with a frown of his own. He didn't like the current situation at all at the moment. And it wasn't just because of what had happened with Hiashi's corpse. No, it was also because of the fact that Tsunade had returned by herself, no Kakashi or Kabuto in sight. And she was in a foul mood as well. But she hadn't told them yet as to what had occurred at the Kage Meeting yet either, something that Ibiki did not like at all either.

Ibiki glanced at Shikaku who merely shook his head lightly as if to say, 'She will tell us eventually. Just have patience.'

Ibiki could only sigh.

Tsunade then stopped abruptly, causing for the other three to stop as well.

Tsunade had her eyes narrowed, a large scowl on her face as well.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Shikaku with a raised eyebrow.

"This," began Tsunade, anger clearly present in her voice, "I recognized this…."

Now that took the others by surprise.

"What is it then?" asked Ibiki, glad that at the very least they would have _something _in all of this.

"It's one of the many creations of our dear friend Orochimaru," said Tsunade with a heavy sigh, trying to calm herself. "Sensei once sent me a whole stack of different types of poisons and the sort that they had discovered in Orochimaru's base when Sensei went to confront him. I was no longer part of the village at the time either, so I was reluctant. But in the end, he managed to convince me. This right here was one of those many things that I analyze that day."

"So what is it?" asked Ibiki again.

"It's like a virus," answered Tsunade with a shake of her head. "It was something that Orochimaru invented to make sure that none of his _experiments_ ever got out once he was through with using his test subjects. He knew, of course, of the Yamanaka clan and their jutsu. This was his way to fight against that. All this is is a bunch of killer cells that are implanted into a person's body that are meant to attack and to destroy the cells of the host's brain. They are triggered when any type of jutsu is used to access the host's brain and its contents…."

'I see,' thought Shikaku, his mind racing. 'The fact that this is one of Orochimaru's creation makes Kabuto an even larger suspect, but…' An image of Anko appeared in Shikaku's mind. 'Could Anko also be included in this? But then again, why would she do this? What would her motive be?'

"That helps us, Tsunade-sama," said Ibiki. "I suppose that with this, we can tell you who we suspect could be behind this…."

That brought Shikaku out of his thoughts. He looked at Ibiki for a moment before turning to Tsunade.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And who might that be?"

"Kabuto," answered Ibiki without any hesitation.

Shikaku stayed silent.

Tsunade scowled, remembering what had happened at the Land of Iron during the Kage Meeting. "Kabuto is not the one who did this," said Tsunade with a shake of her head.

"And why is that?" questioned Ibiki.

"Because Naruto tried to kill him," responded Tsunade calmly. "And so did I."

Now that caused both Ibiki's and Shizune's eyes to widen.

'Now we're getting somewhere,' thought Shikaku. "Tsunade-sama, just what exactly happened at the Kage Summit, if I may ask?" asked Shikaku.

"Kabuto is no longer our ally," replied Tsunade. "But not because of this," she continued, brining the stack of papers forward. "It's clearly obvious that he and Naruto are not working together."

"It could just be an act," muttered Ibiki.

But Tsunade heard him. "It's not," stated Tsunade, turning to look at the scarred interrogator. "That I'm one hundred percent positive of."

"Why?" asked Shikaku.

"I just am," answered Tsunade before pausing. "But because of this new latest revelation, the amount of suspects behind this is extremely shortened."

Tsunade looked at Ibiki straight in the eyes. "I want you to start investigating Mitarashi Anko as soon as possible."

Shizune gasped at hearing that.

'So she's thinking what I'm thinking,' thought Shikaku.

"But Tsunade-sama," protested Shizune, "you can't obviously believe that Anko could be a traitor! It's just not possible!"

"It is," retorted Tsunade, turning away from her shocked assistant. "At this point, I'm willing to follow the slightest hint if it could help us to stop Naruto. I am the Hokage, Shizune. And I will protect this village. Ibiki, you have your orders."

With that, Tsunade began to walk away.

Ibiki merely nodded before turning to look at Shikaku. "Something tells me that you agree with her," he commented.

"Anko is the only other person besides Kabuto that could have done this with something that Orochimaru created," stated Shikaku calmly. "I don't want to believe that she's a traitor, but as Tsunade-sama has just said, this is all we got for the moment. Now, we simply need to follow through with it."

Ibiki stared at Shikaku for a moment before he too started to walk away to the opposite direction.

Shizune for her part could only look at her master's retreating back before she too started to follow.

"Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade turned around to see a running Yugao heading towards her. Ibiki stepped to the side to allow for the purple haired anbu to pass.

"What is it?" asked Tsunade as Yugao stopped in front of her.

"We have a problem in one of the prison levels," answered Yugao with distress clearly in her voice.

"What happened?" asked Tsunade. In all honesty, she didn't really want to know.

"All prisoners and guards on sub-level three have been found to be unconscious," responded Yugao.

"An attempted escape?" questioned Tsunade.

Yugao shook her head. "It doesn't seem like it. All of the prisoners have been accounted for, and there are no signs that anyone tried to brake free. But…"

"But what?" said Tsunade with a raised eyebrow.

Yugao was silent for a moment before answering, "The Inuzuka clan has found both the scents of Anko and of snakes in one of the halls of the prison level."

'Kabuto,' thought both Tsunade Shikaku who was listening.

"Any bodies?" asked Shikaku as he started to walk towards them.

Ibiki had also stayed to listen to what had happened.

Yugao shook her head again. "No, no bodies at all. According to the Inuzukas that were sent to investigate, both of the scents just simply disappeared…."

'This is not good,' thought Tsunade. 'Could Anko and Kabuto be working together then? But that doesn't make any sense! Why would they then try to stop us from knowing if Naruto really did kill Hiashi just because he felt like it? Could Ibiki be right? Could Naruto and Kabuto just be faking to be enemies, but really be on the same side? Ugh, so many damn questions and not a single fucking answer!'

"This is troublesome," muttered Shikaku with a sigh. His thoughts were exactly the same as to that of Tsunade's. Well, with not so much cursing involved.

'Anko,' thought Shizune, troubled.

"What do we do now?" asked Ibiki.

Tsunade gripped the pieces of papers that she still held in her hand before turning away and starting to walk away again, throwing all of the papers everywhere behind her.

"We need to get ready for war," simply answered Tsunade.

The others could only watch Tsunade's retreating back.

* * *

><p>Fu rested her head comfortably on Naruto's shoulder as they both stood sitting down in one of the beaches in the destroyed island of Uzu, watching the sun began to rise to its highest location during the day.<p>

Naruto had his right arm wrapped around his fellow jinchuriki, holding her close to him.

"Can I ask you something?" said Fu in a soft tone.

"What is it?" asked Naruto calmly.

"Do you feel any different now that you know what you are and what you're suppose to do?" asked Fu.

Naruto was silent for a few moments, thinking of the question that Fu had just asked him. "No," he finally answered her, "I don't. I'm still me. I'm still the same person that you knew before we were told of what happened. Well, not as ignorant as before but otherwise, still the same. Is that bad?"

Fu shook her head slightly. "Of course not. Well, not to me. I like this Naruto. And I'm glad that he didn't change just because he's the creator of the ninja world."

Naruto chuckled. "I'm not that type of person. A stuck up bastard. I may be a bastard and an asshole to some people and possibly many other things, but not a stuck up one. Besides, I'm not entirely sure if being the creator of the current ninja world is something to be proud of…."

"It's humanity," stated Fu. "If there is one thing that I got out of all of those shocking truths is that humans are stupid. We always want more and are never content. I wonder though….why are we like that?"

Naruto could only shrug. "I don't have the answer to that, Fu. Because even I'm guilty of that."

Fu nodded as she brought her face closer to Naruto's neck. "Yes, you are. But you don't try to hide it which is what I like about you."

"Are you comfortable with all of this?" asked Naruto as he looked at the rolling waves of the ocean in front of him.

"I'm here, aren't I?" said Fu with a smile. "That should tell you all that you need to know."

Naruto smirked but didn't respond.

The two just simply sat there in silence.

"We'll need to get moving soon," said Naruto after a while. "Our job isn't over yet."

Fu sighed at hearing that. "I just want to stay like this forever…."

"Maybe after we're finished with our mission," replied Naruto.

"Something tells me that it's not going to be that easy," commented Fu as both she and Naruto stood up. Naruto still had his arm wrapped around the green haired jinchuriki.

"Things never are," agreed Naruto.

"Just what is that you want to confirm?" asked Fu, having listened to what Naruto had told Mikoto.

"Don't worry about that," said Naruto while shaking his head. An image of the scroll that he had gained from the spy that he had implanted in Danzo's Root appeared in Naruto's mind but dismissed it.

Fu merely sighed but nodded, accepting it.

**"You know the answer already,"** commented Kurama within Naruto's mind. **"Besides, even if it isn't true, it still won't change the fact that you will destroy Konoha…."**

'I know that,' replied Naruto. 'But still….I'm curious.'

Kurama stayed quiet. He knew it would be pointless to argue. Besides, it wasn't as if he didn't like what was going to happen either.

"Let's go then," said Naruto as he activated his eternal mangekyo.

Fu simply nodded.

The two jinchuriki disappeared in a dark flash, making it seem as if no one was ever there in the first place besides the footprints that were imprinted into the light brown sand of the beach.

All remained silent after that in the once proud land of the Uzumaki clan.

* * *

><p>'It's a good thing that Konoha doesn't know of all of Orochimaru-sama's old bases,' thought Kabuto with a chuckle as he currently stood in a sitting position within a dark room, an unconscious Anko laying right behind him.<p>

In front of him currently stood a large chess like piece of paper, multiple squares present all over.

Kabuto then brought several of white beads from within his his maroon cloak and just simply held them with his right hand.

'Dark Naruto has already almost finished adapting to his curse seal,' thought Kabuto. 'Or should I say 'Shin'….'

Kabuto chuckled at that thought. Dark Naruto had apparently chosen a new name for myself as if to cut all ties with his other self. And the name that he had chosen with was Shin for 'real,' or 'true.'

'He will be ready for once things start,' thought Kabuto. 'And it won't be long now….'

He then glanced back at Anko or more specifically, her curse seal.

'Orochimaru-sama's chakra will be useful in the long run. But for now….'

Kabuto brought both of his hands together into the ram seal, closing his eyes and concentrating.

He still had to bring the remaining of his needed pawns together. But he was confident that he would be ready once the war started.

It wouldn't be long now. Where the end would arrive.

* * *

><p>Mikoto stood on top of the Raikage tower, watching every single member of Kumo's army began to march out of the village and towards Konoha.<p>

Obito stood next to her, also looking down at the moving army. Both White Zetsu and Black Zetsu were behind the two, having rejoined each other.

"You know, I didn't really think that things would go like this," commented Obito with humor in his voice. After Mikoto had told White Zetsu to tell him to get back, Obito had teleported both himself and Mikoto to Kumo to oversee all of this.

Sasuke with his team as well as both Yugito and Bee had proceeded to Konoha from where they had been.

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" said Mikoto with a grin. "At long last, Konoha will burn to the ground…."

Obito glanced at the eager looking female Uchiha. "You're enjoying this far too much, you know…."

Mikoto shrugged. "I don't care. Now, let's go. We don't want to be late, now do we?"

Obito chuckled as Mikoto began to walk away.

**"Is this all right?"** asked Black Zetsu once Mikoto had disappeared completely from the rooftop.

Obito shrugged. "I don't know. Madara never did tell me how things would end…."

"Maybe because he himself didn't know the answer to that," guessed White Zetsu with a chuckle.

"Perhaps," muttered Obito before he himself started to walk away. "In any case, it doesn't matter how Madara wanted for things to end at this point. This is how it will go."

**"But is it the right way?"**

Obito shrugged one last time. "Who knows? We won't know until we walk through it. In any event, it's not my choice. I'm just simply going through the flow, as it were."

Black Zetsu remained silent while White Zetsu laughed.

"This will be fun!" exclaimed White Zetsu.

Obito didn't respond.

* * *

><p>Dark Naruto or 'Shin' sat in a simple bed in silence, resting and waiting for his body to completely become accustomed to the curse seal that Kabuto had given him. The room around him was all dark, but he didn't mind.<p>

He actually felt at peace here. But that didn't mean that he was going to stay put any longer than of what he needed to. He still needed to kill Naruto. Then, he would truly be at peace.

Shin grinned darkly at that thought. He couldn't wait to have both of his hands surrounded in Naruto's blood with said person's body just laying there, dead.

That was his greatest objective at the moment. Damn Kabuto and whatever it was that he wanted to accomplish. It didn't concern Shin the slightest. Kabuto's dream was just simply a delusion in Shin's eyes. He could never become the Rikudo Sennin.

And that was because Shin was the Rikudo Sennin as well as Naruto. But that would change soon.

He would make sure of it.

* * *

><p>Naruto looked at the rebuilt village with an emotionless look from on top of the head of the Shodai Hokage on the Hokage Mountain, Fu standing right beside him.<p>

**"It won't take them long to find you if you just stand here,"** commented Kurama. **"And I'm sure that you want to wait for the forces from Kumo to get here first. That will make your objective a lot easier, won't it?"**

Naruto didn't respond. He simply walked away from the edge of the Shodai's head on the mountain, intent on deciding to stay in the tunnels for the moment.

He didn't get far, however, as a group of five anbu surrounded both him and Fu.

Yugao stepped forward, pointing her sword at Naruto. "Did you really think that we would not notice you again? Especially with how things are at the moment….?"

Naruto didn't even bother to respond to her.

**"Was this your plan all along?"** asked Kurama.

'Yes,' answered Naruto. 'This will throw the whole village into disarray, trying to find me and where I am as well trying to stop me. That's what Tsunade cares about the most after all. But….'

Fu activated her green armor the next moment, taking a step forward as well.

'Oh?' thought Naruto as he looked at Fu in surprise.

**'Chomei, you….'** thought Kurama, surprised as well.

"You will not stop us," said Fu, narrowing her eyes at the masked purpled haired female anbu.

"We will see about that," replied Yugao.

'I need to make this quick,' thought Naruto. 'But you, Tsunade, have underestimated me, sending just simply five anbu against me. You still haven't learned. And it will cost you…'

Both Naruto and Fu prepared themselves while Yugao and the four other anbu readied themselves as well.

'Let's get this party started,' thought Naruto as he activated his rinnegan with a smirk on his face. Seeing this made Yugao and the rest of the anbu present to take a step back, but it wouldn't do them much.

Naruto brought both of his hands forward.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Unusual updating schedule, I know. But…time is of an issue for me right now. After this week though, I'm sure that I'll have more free time to update. But that doesn't mean that I'll update quicker though. I do have a life after all.**

**But enough about that. Here is the latest chapter. A setup chapter basically. I still hope you found this interesting though.**

**Next chapter is…well basically the start of the 'war.' So, look forward to it.**

**I think that's all I got for this time. Any questions, just ask.**

**Till next time.**


	49. Beginning of the End

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 48:<br>Beginning of the End**

Neji calmly walked through one of the halls in the newly rebuilt Hyuuga mansion. It was early in the morning, but Neji didn't know exactly what time it was. If he were to guess, he would say somewhere around eight in the morning.

While Neji was an early morning starter, he didn't know why exactly he was up this early today. Other times in the past it had just been because he had wanted to train or because he had something to attend to. Mostly to do with things that Hiashi assigned to him in the past. But with said clan head now gone, Neji now had a lot of free time.

Of course he knew this wouldn't last for long. Neji wasn't sure yet as to when exactly Naruto would begin with the final stage with his plan, but he guessed that there was still some time before it actually happened.

Neji was greeted by two branch members of the Hyuuga clan that were quietly walking the opposite way that he was going. Both members bowed slightly as Neji walked passed them.

This didn't surprised Neji in the slightest. Against his wishes, Neji was viewed as a sort of leader for the branch members of the Hyuuga clan, even by the elders of the branch clan at that. Of course, there was also the fact that he was well liked by the main house as well. Some members of the main house, though, weren't particularly thrilled by that fact.

But Neji just simply didn't give a flying rat ass what they thought.

Neji stopped for a second, as if assessing something before he started to walk forward again. A few seconds later, though, he suddenly turned right towards one of the doors that lead to one of the many libraries that the compound contained.

Opening the door and walking into the room, Neji was pleasantly surprised to see that no one was currently inside the library. Letting the door be opened for another second, Neji closed it behind him. He then proceeded to walk to one of the windows on the opposite side of the door, just staring out towards the village.

"You know," began Neji with a small sigh, "I'm quite surprised to see you here right now, Naruto…."

A few seconds later, one Uzumaki Naruto appeared in the middle room, a calm look on his face.

"Why should you be?" asked Naruto.

Neji shrugged, not turning around to face his supposed leader. "Because it just means that something big is going to happen."

Naruto was quiet at that for a few moments. Then he said, "You're right about that. It's time to finish with what we all want."

Neji turned away from the window and its view to look at Naruto. "But why so early?" asked Neji with a raised eyebrow. "I thought that it wouldn't occur until-"

"The plan has changed," interrupted Naruto with a shake of his head. "There's something that I want, no, that I _must_ have as soon as possible."

"And what is that?" asked Neji with a curious look on his face.

Naruto sighed. "Don't worry about that right now. But I'm going to need your assistance in this…."

"What is it?" questioned Neji.

"The forces from Kumo won't be here for a few more hours," explained Naruto calmly, "but I'm going to need some backup at the moment. And I can't wait for Kumo for this."

"You're being too impatient, Naruto," warned Neji. "If you do this, it can jeopardize everything."

"I know that," replied Naruto with a sigh. "But I can't wait any longer for this. I have to do it now."

Realization hit Neji straight in the face. "You're just a clone, aren't you?" he said with narrowed eyes.

Naruto chuckled slightly at the observation. "Correct. The real me is currently on the Hokage Mountain. It won't be long for someone to spot me either…."

"Then why are you-"

Naruto held one of his hands up to stop Neji. "Like you've already said, I'm impatient right now. This might not be the best way, but I need for Konoha to know that I'm here. But I also can't let them get in my way from retrieving what is mine…."

"Then what do you need of me?" asked Neji.

"The Hyuuga clan," answered Naruto. "I understand that Hinata became the new clan head already….congratulations on that, by the way. I didn't think that it was possible."

Neji shrugged. "It wasn't that hard to achieve…."

"In any case, this will come in handy right now," continued Naruto. "I need for the Hyuuga clan to be the diversion for now."

Neji stared blankly at the Naruto clone for a few moments before responding, "So what you're saying is that you want for a single clan to go against the whole village? That's just suicide…."

"It can't be helped," replied Naruto with another sigh. "Not with these circumstances."

"Which is why you should have just waited," retorted Neji with a shake of his head.

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe, but it's out of the question now. But don't worry, you won't be all alone out there. I brought some backup."

"Who?" asked Neji with a raised eyebrow.

"Fu," simply answered Naruto.

"The Nanabi," muttered Neji, finally understanding what Naruto was saying.

Naruto nodded. "Exactly. With you and the Hyuuga clan as well as the Nanabi, it should be enough to stall Konoha until Kumo arrives."

"But how are we to get the rest of the clan into going along with this?" asked Neji.

Naruto shrugged. "Easy. Fear."

"I see…" muttered Neji.

"You have your orders," stated Naruto. "I'm counting on you, Neji. Don't fail me."

Neji's face became dark. "Don't worry, I won't. I've also got a stake in this, if you haven't forgotten. This is as important to me as it is to you."

"Good," simply said Naruto before he dispersed into a puff of smoke, indicating that he was just simply a shadow clone.

'I need to get Hinata,' thought Neji as he proceeded to walk out of the library.

It seemed that he had been wrong after all. The end was here already. And he would make sure that the end would go his way. After all, it was the whole reason that he was even in this to begin with.

'Father,' thought Neji as he walked out of the library, closing the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Back on top of the Hokage Mountain, things were not looking good for one purple haired anbu. And why was that? Because the rest of her teammates were already dead. Now, she was facing off against one of the strongest shinobi in existence, if not the strongest. And he wasn't alone either.<p>

'That jutsu,' thought Yugao, remembering that Naruto had used it before to destroy the village once. 'It's extremely powerful. But it seems my theory was right.'

She was referring of course to the fact that she had sent chakra to both of her feet to stick to the ground to prevent her from being blown away. It had worked, if barely. Even with the chakra keeping her stuck to the ground, she had still almost been blow away with the rest of her teammates.

Naruto for his part had to raise an eyebrow in surprise and respect as he noticed this particular fact thanks to his rinnegan. 'So, she used chakra to keep herself from being pushed back, did she? Clever….'

**"I have to agree with that,"** commented Kurama. **"Pity, though, that she has to die."**

'Yeah,' agreed Naruto. 'But I don't have time to waste on her. I have to find it first….'

Kurama already knew as to what his host was talking about, but the bijuu had to raise an eyebrow in confusion. **"And here I thought that you were going for the journal first…."**

'Not anymore,' replied Naruto. 'The weapon comes first. I don't know if Kabuto knows of it yet since Danzo had been working with Orochimaru in search for it apparently. The scroll never did say if Danzo found it or not. But….' Naruto held his head with his left hand, hiding the smirk that befell his face. 'The Rikudo Sennin seems to still be offering me assistance. Giving me memories of it….'

Kurama was silent at that.

"Fu," said Naruto, causing the green haired jinchuriki next to him to turn to look at him. "I need you to deal with her. There's something that I need to do before everyone else arrives."

Fu nodded. "I see. Then leave it to me."

Hearing this caused Yugao to narrow her eyes behind her mask. 'Everyone else?' she thought. 'Who else is coming? And what are they planning?'

"Link up with Neji and Hinata afterwards," continued Naruto, turning his back on Yugao and starting to walk back towards the face of the Shodai Hokage.

'Hinata?' thought Fu, clearly surprised. 'Since when is she….?'

But Yugao's thoughts were clearly different at the moment. 'Those two….are they the traitors that injected the killer cells into Hiashi's corpse? But just how would they have been able to obtain them in the first place? Does this mean that they could have killed Hiashi then? To make Hinata the new clan head? But for what purpose? Ugh, this is just too damn confusing!'

Fu simply nodded again.

Seeing this, Naruto disappeared, intent on retrieving what was for all purposes, his.

Fu turned her attention back on the quiet anbu. "So it's just you and me now," said Fu with a small smirk. "I'm going to enjoy this…."

'Tch,' thought Yugao as she readied her sword in front of her. 'I shouldn't have come to confront them so ill-prepared. I should of warned Tsunade-sama first….' But now was not the time for that. She needed to kill or defeat the opponent before her and then to tell Tsunade of the intrusion as well as the information that she just acquired.

'He honestly didn't care that he said that out loud,' thought Yugao, thinking of Naruto. 'He did it on purpose. He's confident that the girl before me can kill me.' Yugao gripped the sword that she currently held. 'Well, I'm going to prove to him that he's terribly mistaken.'

'Are you ready, Chomei?' asked Fu within her mind.

Chomei merely nodded. **"Yes, I am. Now, let's do this…."**

Fu simply nodded in return.

Gripping her sword on final time, Yugao charged at Fu with an incredible speed.

**"That sword cannot penetrate my armor,"** stated Chomei within Fu's mind as said girl was forced to dodge the strikes from the purple haired anbu, if barely. **"But it would be best if you don't let her know that just yet. Let her think that she can, getting her hopes up before shattering them into million pieces."**

'You're cruel, Chomei,' thought Fu with a slight sweatdrop as she continued to dodge Yugao's sword strikes.

Chomei didn't respond.

'Not bad,' thought Yugao as she jumped back to put some distance between her and the younger female in front of her. 'Now, to kick it up a notch….'

Fu raised an eyebrow as the anbu in front of her went deadly still. 'What is she up to?' wondered Fu.

But then her eyes were wide open as she felt a cut on her left arm, some of her armor having been cracked as well.

"How!" she said, turning around to look at Yugao who was now standing behind her who also had her sword in front of her.

Fu also felt some blood trickling down her cheek from a cut on her left cheek as well. It seems that Yugao had also tried to cut her neck off, but the armor had held, if only barely.

"I was once trained by Uzumaki Kushina," stated Yugao, her sword glowing a slight hazy blue. "I know for a fact that that armor of yours is not ordinary, those wings on your back being proof of that. But I'm not an ordinary kunoichi either. I'm the best shinobi with a sword in Konoha at the moment. That armor of yours…it is nothing before me!"

Fu looked at the anbu in front of her in silence for a few moments before she started to laugh.

"Well, I'm not an ordinary kunoichi either!" retorted Fu after she had finished laughing as the wings on her back started to flap. "And I'm going to show you that that little sword of yours is nothing before me!"

Yugao growled behind her mask slightly as Fu ascended high into the air. 'What is she planning?' she asked herself before she was forced to duck an incoming Fu.

'She's fast!' thought Yugao as she jumped out of the way of the now flying Fu. 'It's those wings that gives her speed,' thought Yugao as she landed. 'If I take those out, she's nothing.'

Yugao then brought her sword forward in order to chop the incoming projectiles heading her way.

'What are these things!' thought Yugao as she tried to cut off all of the green and scaly looking projectiles. But there were just too many of them!

Yugao could only frown as she noticed that some of them actually cut her on both of her shoulders.

Seeing no other alternative, Yugao began to jump backwards in order to dodge the projectiles that were currently being thrown at her.

**"Hanegiri!"**

'What!' thought Yugao as she was blown back into a tree in midair from the shockwave.

Yugao could only hold her stomach in pain after having been flown into the tree.

"Is that all you got?" taunted Fu from the air. "Really, and you were going on all about how you would crush me before."

"I'm not done yet," retorted Yugao as she stood up.

Fu frowned before the green scaly projectiles from before started to appear on both sides of her arms.

'So those things are part of her armor that she simply throws at her opponent,' realized Yugao before she fell on her knees again. She then proceeded to puke out blood from her mouth as well as feeling both of her shoulders burning as if she was being burned alive.

Fu smirked as she noticed this. "So it's finally kicking in, is it?" she said.

"What did you do to me!" screamed Yugao in pain.

Fu could only shrug. "It's nothing special really. It's just that these little tools of mine are in fact coated with chakra of that of a bijuu. And since you're not a jinchuriki meaning that you're body is not used to the chakra of a bijuu, well I'm sure you know what happens as a result of coming into contact with the demonic chakra."

Yugao could only scowl as she heard this.

'This is not a good situation for me,' she thought. 'I need to retreat.'

Fu shook her head. "And don't be thinking of running away because I'm not going to let you."

Yugao could only scream in pain as her whole body was pierced by the sharp scales from Fu's armor that said kunoichi had just thrown at her once again.

Fu calmly landed in front of the panting female anbu whose sword now simply laid on the ground.

"So this is it, is it?" said Fu as she picked up Yugao's sword. "I must thank you, though, for showing me that there are ways for my armor to be penetrated. I'll be more careful from now on."

Yugao raised her head to look up at Fu. "Just what are you planning on doing?"

Fu shook her head. "I'm not planning anything. It's Naruto. I'm merely following him."

"Why?" It was the only thing that Yugao could ask.

Fu raised Yugao's sword up, looking right into the mask where she presumed the kunoichi's eyes would be. "Surely you must have someone that you deeply cared for and loved with the entire fiber of your being," said Fu softly.

"I see…." muttered Yugao as an image of Hayate appeared in her mind. She then lowered her head to the ground. There was nothing else to say.

Fu quickly took a swipe with the sword, beheading the purple haired anbu. While it wasn't a clean cut as she wasn't really a fan of swords, it did the job.

Uzuki Yugao was dead.

Fu dropped the sword on the ground while deactivating Chomei's armor as well. She turned her head to look towards the village.

'Now I need to get to where Neji is,' thought Fu as she began to walk towards the village.

**"And that is?"** asked Chomei.

Fu could only shrug. 'The Hyuuga compound. And I'm presuming that it's the largest building or buildings in the area. I'm sure someone will tell me.'

**"How?"**

'Easy,' thought Fu as a puff of smoke appeared around her. 'The Henge jutsu. I'm sure that no civilian will notice the difference.'

Chomei stayed silent, merely opting for allowing his host to do as she pleased. In any case, it wouldn't be long before Konoha found the bodies.

But another thought invaded the bijuu's mind. Just what was Naruto looking for?

He supposed that he would know soon enough.

* * *

><p>Obito looked at all the weapons in front of him, trying to decide which one to bring with him. He was currently in the original underground base that Madara had built for himself and where Obito himself had stayed in for some years.<p>

Obito's outfit had also changed. He now wore black pants with a black t-shirt, a black cape with white lines running down all through both sides of its long sleeves as well as through the raised up collar and down both sides of the opened front. He now also wore gloves that were similar to that of Kushina's as well as black shinobi sandals. The Uchiha clan symbol was present on the upper back of his coat.

Looking around the selections of weapons all hanging in front of him again, Obito decided to go with the one that had been Madara's favorite which was the gunbai.

Obito didn't know why he was taking this one. But something in his gut just told him to do it. Besides, it wasn't like he wasn't familiar with the weapon either. Madara had let both him and Tobi practice with it as well as with all the other weapons that he had possessed.

Obito looked behind him to see both Black Zetsu and White Zetsu coming out of the ground behind him.

"What is it?" asked Obito as he strapped the gunbai on his back.

**"The army is now ready,"** answered Black Zetsu.

"So Tobi really had been using the bijuu's chakra to hasten the production of White Zetsus then," muttered Obito.

**"But we finished it,"** added Black Zetsu. **"Although we did use a considerable amount of the Shukaku's chakra for this."**

Obito waved one of his hands in dismissal at that. "Who cares? I'm sure that Naruto won't mind either. Now c'mon. We need to get going to Konoha as soon as possible," finished Obito as he started to walk towards the exit of the hideout.

"The army of me is already on the move," stated White Zetsu with a big grin. "I can't wait to see what they do…."

"We'll find out soon enough," said Obito in response as he started to disappear in a vortex.

Seeing this, Zetsu began to disappear into the ground as well.

Their destination was Konoha.

* * *

><p>Tsunade brought both of her hands down on her desk, a furious look on her face. "What did you just say!" she screamed.<p>

The anbu in front of her held his ground bravely, however. He didn't achieve this rank for nothing.

"Tsunade-sama, please calm down," pleaded Shizune from Tsunade's right, holding Tonton close to her chest.

'Yugao, you idiot,' thought Tsunade in anger. 'Just what had you been planning on doing!?'

"This is obvious that Naruto is most likely back," commented Shikaku from his spot, leaning against one of the walls in Tsunade's office.

Tsunade clenched her hands at that thought before looking at the anbu in front of her again. "Declare the village into lockdown, now! No one leaves or enters, is that understood!?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," simply replied the anbu, bowing for a moment before disappearing, intent on carrying his orders.

"Shizune!"

Said woman stood sharply as Tsunade turned to look at her. "Prepare our defensive strategies, now! Also call a meeting of all clan heads and jonin in the village. This time we will not be so ill-prepared."

"Hai!" With that, Shizune literally ran out of the office, also intent on carrying her orders.

"Shikaku," began Tsunade as she began to walk towards the door of her office, catching said Nara's attention, "let's go. We have plans to put into effect."

Shikaku could only nod as he followed behind the raging blonde Senju.

'You won't get away this time, Naruto,' thought Tsunade furiously.

Little did she know that running away was the last of Naruto's intentions.

* * *

><p>At the underground levels of the village of Konoha in one of the many bases that Orochimaru had once used, a slightly panting Kabuto currently stood. Well, actually he was sitting down at the moment, but that wasn't the point.<p>

Kabuto could only grin at the sight of a multitude of coffins standing behind him. He had done it. His preparations were now complete. Now all that was needed was for Shin to arrive.

But Kabuto knew that it wouldn't take long for that to happen. Shin possessed a teleportation that clearly rivaled that of Obito's.

'Now, all I have is to is wait,' he thought before the snake behind him started to hiss in his ears.

Kabuto raised an eyebrow as the snake delivered the information from one of the many other smaller snakes that Kabuto had placed all over the underground levels of Konoha.

'So Naruto-kun is already here,' thought Kabuto with a frown. 'This is unexpected…but what is he doing in the Uchiha's secret meeting room? The only thing of importance there is the tablet left behind by the Rikudo Sennin for his descendants to know what had once happened with the Juubi….'

But it didn't matter for Kabuto. He would use this opportunity to his advantage. He may have had already failed once in the Land of Iron, but he was willing to try again. After all, he had an entire army of obedient shinobi at his disposal. Maybe he could even wound Naruto before Shin arrived to finish the job.

'Yes,' thought Kabuto with a smirk. 'But who to send…'

It took him a few moments to figure it out. But soon, he was content with his choices.

'These four will do nicely….'

* * *

><p>Naruto calmly stopped in front of the tablet in the almost dark underground secret room of the Uchiha clan. The room was only lighted by two torches that stood on both sides where the tablet was placed in.<p>

'So this is it….' thought Naruto, an eager look on his face as he activated his rinnegan.

**"I'm surprised that Tobi never found this though,"** commented Kurama as Naruto concentrated on the tablet in front of him. **"After all, he did have that Nagato person with him who also possessed the rinnegan."**

'Have you forgotten what I have remembered?' asked Naruto as he brought his hands up to the ram seal. 'The reason that Nagato could have never found this is because it requires the usage of bijuu chakra….'

**'So the old man was planning for this,' **thought Kurama with a chuckle before going silent. **'Now….to unlock the final tool that he created….'**

Naruto closed his eyes momentarily before snapping them wide open as Kurama's chakra began to surround him.

'Now….OPEN!' screamed Naruto in his mind as he forced Kurama's chakra into the tablet. The tablet easily received the chakra, almost as if its whole purpose was just to do that. And it was.

It glowed for just one second before it started to crack into pieces.

Naruto couldn't contain the laugh that escaped him as the tablet exploded into millions of tiny pieces, all spreading around the room. But Naruto didn't care about that at the moment. All he cared about was what now remained.

It was a sword. But it wasn't just any type of sword either. It was one that was made by the Rikudo Sennin along with all of his other special weapons that were currently in the possession of other villages, mainly Kumo.

The sword itself was black in color with red streaks running all through the sides and down the middle as well as its handle. Its blade was made entirely of pure silver. The sword was extremely wide as well. It looked as if only someone with immense upper body strength could pick it up.

But to Naruto who immediately picked it up, it was nothing. It felt as if he had been wielding it his entire life which wasn't far from the truth either.

'How did I ever live without you?' thought Naruto with glee.

**"Because you didn't even know that it existed until just about yesterday,"** stated Kurama with a chuckle.

'It doesn't matter now,' replied Naruto as he placed the massive sword on his shoulder, Kisame style. 'It's back with me where it belongs…'

He wasn't able to enjoy it for much longer, however, as four coffins rose out of the ground in front of him.

'Kabuto…' thought Naruto with narrowed eyes.

**"Seems like he's too late though,"** stated Kurama as the openings for all four of the coffins fell to the ground, leaving its content wide open for Naruto to see.

Naruto raised both of his eyebrows as he immediately recognized the four shinobi present.

"So its you four this time," began Naruto with a chuckle. "Jiraiya, Itachi, Madara, and….Tobi."

Said four shinobi all opened their eyes as the coffins that they were in disappeared into the ground.

"What is this?" said Jiraiya as he looked around the room, clearly confused.

"This is…." muttered Itachi, having already recognized the room.

Madara immediately spotted Naruto and had to sigh as he immediately understood what was going on. 'Again with this…Kabuto should know that it's pointless. And here I actually thought that he was smarter than that….'

Tobi for his part was also in the same state as Jiraiya. Confused as hell.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," said Naruto with a feral grin.

"Who are you?" asked Itachi with a raised eyebrow.

"Uzumaki Naruto," answered Madara before Naruto could.

Jiraiya's eyes widened at this information. "Naruto?" he repeated in shock. "But how could you be Naruto!? You look nothing like him!"

Naruto merely pointed with his freed hand to his cheeks where his whiskers were.

As soon as Jiraiya saw this, he gasped again. It was Naruto! Figures. You die and things start changing like there is no tomorrow. Fucking time….

'So this is what you have become,' thought Itachi as he gazed at the now identified Naruto.

Tobi growled as he looked at Naruto. "You little brat….it seems as if I was given the chance to pay you back for ruining my plans."

Naruto chuckled at hearing that. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it it his plan in the first place?" said Naruto, pointing at the stoic looking Madara.

Hearing this caused Tobi to pause for a moment. "How do you know that?" he asked.

Naruto simply shrugged. "I don't really feel like telling you that."

Tobi growled again.

"I can see now why you always hid your face," said Naruto with another chuckle, referring to the lack of the mask that Tobi had always worn. Instead, now he simply wore a a dark red cloak just like Itachi was currently wearing. Jiraiya was wearing his usual attire just like Madara was as well.

Before anything else could take place, a vortex appeared right beside Naruto.

"Well, isn't this a reunion! Am I invited?"

Tobi's face gained that of insanity as he immediately recognized the voice. "Obito!"

Uchiha Obito appeared out of the vortex, a mixture of a grin and a smirk on his face.

"So you're also here," said Naruto, sparring Obito a glance.

"Do you honestly believe that I would miss this?" replied Obito with a shake of his head.

"Obito!" screamed Tobi again.

"Nice seeing you again, Tobi," simply said Obito but focused entirely on Madara. "Just how long do you plan on staying there, being used as a simple mindless puppet?"

Madara chuckled at hearing that. "It's for convenience purposes, but now it's pointless, isn't it?"

Obito retrieved the gunbai that was strapped on his back before throwing to Madara who caught it with little effort.

'So this is the true Madara…' thought Itachi, watching all of this with a calculating gaze.

Jiraiya just didn't have a single clue as to what was going on at the moment. Just how long had he been dead for?

"So you're on our side this time, are you?" said Naruto to Madara who simply disappeared only to reappear on Naruto's right side, the opposite of where Obito stood.

"Kabuto made a mistake of summoning me again," stated Madara. "And now it will cost him."

"First comes these three though," said Obito, looking straight at Tobi.

"I always wanted for this to happen," said Tobi, looking back at Obito with hatred and completely forgetting about Naruto at the moment. "I don't care if I'm just some simple tool right now. I will finally kill you, Obito! And show Madara who is the better between you and me."

Madara for his part simply brought his gunbai forward, not really much caring about Tobi at this point.

"It seems that I don't have a choice either," commented Itachi as his sharingan activated.

Jiraiya remained silent, simply looking straight at Naruto. He had died easily, having underestimated both Kushina and Mikoto. But he wouldn't commit the same mistake with Naruto here.

Naruto laughed as his grip on his sword tightened, an excited look on his face as well as in his rinnegan eyes.

"Let's get the party started!"

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Good news for me: I'm finally free! Wohoo! Summer vacation is finally here! And this chapter is to celebrate my happiness! I honestly didn't think that I would have time, but I just got typing and well….this happened!**

**As you can see, I'm really excited right now. Meh, you may think that I'm overreacting, but I really don't care. But whatever. The next chapter is here as a result, and that's all you guys care about. Not that I blame you either.**

**Speaking of new chapters, just what the fuck! Sasuke wanting to be Hokage now? I mean, just seriously? I thought that he had been after something else but wanting to be Hokage? After everything he said that he was going to do before? I don't know what to think anymore….**

**That being said, I'm kinda excited about seeing how he and Naruto will work together though. I simply don't care about Sakura at this point….**

**But I'm still kinda pissed about Sasuke wanting to be Hokage now…**

**But don't mind me. I'm just kind of venting here.**

**Anyway, that's all I got today. Any questions, feel free to ask. And review! If I can get to one thousand for my first story, I can show up a certain someone….**

**Till next time.**


	50. Truly Different

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…."- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 49:<br>Truly Different**

"Let's get the party started!"

It wasn't a second after Naruto's loud announcement that said silver haired jinchuriki disappeared from his spot between both Madara and Obito, only to reappear in front of a wide eyed Jiraiya.

'Fast!' thought Jiraiya before he was pushed back with great force thanks to Naruto.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

"Agh!" Jiraiya screamed in pain as he was flown backwards due to the gravity attack. But he wasn't the only one.

The force of the attack had been strong enough to affect both Itachi and Tobi as well who weren't the intended target either.

'I recalled that he gained possession the rinnegan somehow,' thought Tobi as he came to a halt right before he was mashed into the wall behind him.

Itachi was on the opposite side of the room in front of the other wall, managing to counter with his Susanoo at the last moment.

Naruto stood on the spot where he, Jiraiya, had been with said shinobi having been pushed all the way into the far wall creating a big hole which indicated the spot where he had gone through. Naruto still had his newly acquired sword on his shoulder. All the other occupants could feel the bloodlust that was currently radiating from the only Uzumaki that was present in the room.

'It seems that he's finally letting out all of that pent up anger and bloodlust,' thought Madara, looking straight at Naruto's back. 'He's not messing around anymore….'

Obito merely smirked at the sight. 'This is it, I suppose….' He then glanced at Tobi who was still staring at Naruto in anger.

"Brat!" screamed Tobi as he rushed at said 'brat' blindly without thinking about anything else but to kill his target. He was basically being consumed in his own anger by this point.

Naruto didn't even glance at his direction, not even when Tobi was right in front of him, his mangekyo flaring in anger. His other sharingan eye was still in its basic form since its mangekyo form had not been unlocked by the original owner.

Tobi could only look in anger as his punch was blocked by one from Obito who now stood in front of him.

Obito still had his smirk on his face as he and Tobi came face to face. "Weren't you saying something about you wanting to prove that you're better than me? Well, this is your chance!"

Tobi narrowed his eyes at Obito before they both disappeared in a vortex the next moment, heading to who knew where.

**"That takes care of Tobi,"** muttered Kurama.

Naruto didn't respond.

"I suppose that leaves you to me," said Madara, gazing at the stoic looking Itachi who was surrounded by his own Susanoo ribcage.

"Uchiha Madara," simply responded Itachi as he tore his eyes from Naruto's form to look at Madara. "It would appear that I had been mistaken all along, thinking that Tobi was you…."

"That doesn't matter now," replied Madara as he brought his gunbai forward, pointing it straight at Itachi. "I had always wanted to fight against you, Uchiha Itachi. It's a pity that you're already dead, but it can't be helped now. I'll simply help you to get back to hell where I will soon join you afterwards."

Itachi chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I suppose that is true. I wasn't expecting to be brought back into this little tale that I really want no part in either. But like you have said, it can't be helped now. Now, come, Uchiha Madara!"

Both Uchihas locked eyes with the each other's respective mangekyo or in Madara's case, his eternal mangekyo.

But Naruto didn't pay them any attention either. He was simply focusing on Jiraiya who was on his way in trying to disentangle himself from the debris from the hole on the wall that he had unwillingly created.

"Get up, old man," said Naruto with no emotion currently present in his voice. "I want to enjoy destroying every part of your body."

Jiraiya could only frown as he heard this. Just what had happened to Naruto? He never expected for things to go the way that they had. This was just all simply too wrong. If only he hadn't left Naruto alone that day those three years ago, if only he had actually been there to personally help Naruto, maybe all of this could have been avoided.

'But I can't change the past,' thought Jiraiya as he finally freed himself and made his way out of the hole. He stopped a few feet away from Naruto, staring right into Naruto's unchanging rinnegan eyes. 'What I can do is change the future, however. And that is what I will aim to do here today.'

Naruto gripped the handle on his sword for just a moment before charging at the person who had once been his teacher and friend.

Jiraiya leaned forward slightly as he prepared to defend himself from the person who had once been his student.

"Make this fun for me, Jiraiya!" screamed Naruto as he brought his sword upwards, intent on cutting down the white haired Sennin.

At the last moment, Naruto's sword clashed with a simple kunai that Jiraiya had taken out.

Jiraiya gritted his teeth in slight frustration as he felt himself being pushed back by Naruto with simple brute strength alone but not only that, but he also felt Naruto's sword starting to cut right through the kunai.

'Just what is that sword?' wondered Jiraiya.

The next moment was one of the most shocking that Jiraiya had ever experienced in his whole life. And what was that? That was Jiraiya looking straight at a dark form that seemed to be enveloping Naruto. All Jiraiya could see were dark red eyes with a circular patter around them, looking as if they were staring right into his very soul and enjoying it very much too.

'What is that thing?' thought Jiraiya, actually beginning to feel fear creeping into his very heart, if he even possessed that in this reanimation form.

He wasn't able to dwell on this too long, however, as he was suddenly hunched forward from having been kicked right into the stomach by none other than Naruto.

"Don't space out on me," said Naruto with the same tone as before. "I told you to make this interesting for me. If you don't, it just won't be fun killing you again."

Jiraiya then felt his right arm that also held the kunai being chopped off by Naruto's sword which had finally cut completely through the kunai.

Jiraiya fell to his knees, using his other hand to hold his right shoulder and looked up to see Naruto standing over him.

"Is this all you can do?" asked Naruto as he raised his sword up again.

Jiraiya gritted his teeth again before forming a familiar jutsu with his left hand.

**"Rasengan!"**

But much to his dismay, the attack was simply repelled by Naruto's sword with said individual having brought it forward in order to block the attack.

Jiraiya's eyes widened as he felt himself be blown back a second time into the same wall and through the same hole as before.

'I'm just an insect to him,' realized Jiraiya before he impacted through the wall again.

Naruto simply stood there.

Itachi jumped up to the ceiling of the underground room in order to dodge the gusts of winds that Madara had just sent him with his gunbai.

'I have limited space here,' thought Itachi, referring to the room that they were currently in. 'This is not a preferred location for a fight such as this. After all, I'm pretty sure that my genjutsu would be useless against him.'

Madara placed his gunbai on his back before bringing his hands together and starting to form a set of handseals that were all too familiar to Itachi who also began to do the same thing in response.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

Both fireballs impacted with each other, trying to overpower the other in order to burn the user of the other into ash.

'My illness is no longer affecting me,' realized Itachi as he continued trying to repel Madara's attack. 'It seems that I'm back to one hundred percent then….'

In a quick motion, Madara had his gunbai back in his hands before using it to create more gusts of winds to empower his fire style attack.

Itachi could only frown as he noticed this particular fact as well as seeing and feeling his own attack begin to be pushed back by the empowered fireball.

The end result was a big explosion occurring, completely destroying that portion of the room.

Naruto for his part looked up to the ceiling to see it beginning to crumble as well as with the rest of the room.

'Those two….' thought Naruto, thinking of Madara and Itachi as his own Susanoo appeared and began to shield from all of the incoming debris.

'This is just the beginning….'

* * *

><p>Both Obito and Tobi landed roughly on the ground inside their own dimension, roughly a few feet apart from each other. But they weren't alone here.<p>

A good distance away from the two Uchiha was one Hatake Kakashi who was also currently tied up with the chains from before that Obito had used to defeat both him and Tsunade. His left eye which had one housed the other eye from Obito was covered with dried blood as well as parts of his mask that covered the lower part of his face.

'What is this?' asked Kakashi to himself, seeing what appeared to be two Obitos in front of him. But how was that possible?

Both Obito and Tobi stood up at the same time with Tobi looking at Obito with unmistakable hatred and dislike.

"I didn't know that you still used this," said Tobi while spitting on the ground in front of him.

"I was forced to as time went on," replied Obito calmly. "After all, whether I like it or not, this is a part of my power. It is a part of me, and I need to use it or otherwise I would have probably died a long time ago."

But to Tobi, none of that matter. Instead he said, "If I would have known that you had gotten free of your _fear_, then I would have been able to kill you a long time ago."

Obito could only sigh. "You still haven't changed, have you? Even after all these years…."

"Were you expecting something different?" retorted Tobi before pausing and turning to look to his right to where Kakashi currently was.

Tobi narrowed his eyes at this. "You…"

Obito turned to his left to see who exactly Tobi was looking at at the moment. "Well, Kakashi. I almost forgot that you were still here."

Kakashi currently had his single eye wide in shock. "You two….who the hell are you!" he screamed in anger.

Obito chuckled lightly as well as shook his head. "This must be a shocker to you, I suppose. But I guess that I can't blame you. If another you showed up, I would probably be in the same state as well." But then he shrugged. "It's nothing, really. We're both Obito…"

"I'm not you!" interrupted Tobi with a scowl on his face. "I'm me, that's all there is to it. I'm simply 'Tobi' now, not Uchiha Obito."

Obito merely stared at Tobi in silence.

"How is this possible?" muttered Kakashi.

Tobi turned to look at him again. "You don't have to worry about that, Kakashi. Just know that that person over there is Obito," he said while pointing at said person, "while I'm not," he finished while pointing at himself.

"You can keep telling yourself that," retorted Obito with narrowed eyes, "but you know that it isn't true. You're also a part of me."

Tobi growled again as his mangekyo spun. "SHUT UP!" he screamed as he brought his hands together.

Seeing this, Obito readied himself. 'While I'm in here, I'm not able to just simply let attacks phase right through me. Well, not unless I want to teleport back to the real world. But that also goes for him as well. I need to be careful.'

**"Fire Style: Bakufu Ranbu!"**

Recognizing the attack, Obito was quickly on the defensive as the spinning vortex of fire made its way towards him.

Large spikes of wood began to appear in front of Obito, shielding him from the attack.

Seeing this brought a frown upon Tobi's face. 'Obito, you too….'

"That's right," said Obito with a humorless chuckle from behind the large spikes of wood. "I was also injected with Hashirama's cells just like you were."

Obito appeared in front of the wooden spikes, his mangekyo glowing. "How else do you think that I've been able to possess the mangekyo for so long without going blind?"

Tobi's hands turned into fists at this particular fact.

"It seems that you and I aren't too different after all," said Obito with a grin.

Tobi didn't respond to that.

Kakashi for his part could only watch all of this in complete confusion and frustration.

Wooden spikes began to form on Tobi's deformed part of his body. Said individual was currently just simply looking straight at Obito with no emotions in his eyes, the complete opposite from before. It seemed that he was beginning to control his anger that he possessed for Obito.

"There's one thing that I always wanted to ask you," began Obito, causing for Tobi to pause for a moment.

"And what is that?" asked Tobi.

Obito paused for a moment before replying, "Just what exactly were your intentions for having caused the civil war in Kiri? Just what did you have to gain from it?"

Tobi was quite for a moment before he exploded in full laughter. "So you still don't know, do you?" said Tobi when his laughter had died off. "Well, I was the one who became the Mizukage after Madara died after all. So I guess I shouldn't be too surprised..."

"Just answer me," interrupted Obito.

Tobi shrugged. "Payback. For what happened with Rin…."

"You," said Obito with narrowed eyes.

Tobi looked over at Kakashi. "Aren't I right, Kakashi? That was the whole reason why you killed her that day…."

"It was Rin's choice," muttered Kakashi but was heard by both Obito and Tobi. "She just wanted to protect Konoha."

Tobi scoffed at the name. "Again with that village. But yes, that is my reason, Obito. Kiri sealed the Sanbi into Rin, planning on unsealing it once she was in Konoha. But she chose death over that. When I found this information, it was then that I planned on manipulating the newly elected Yondaime Mizukage who also happened to be the new jinchuriki for the Sanbi after I stepped down from being the Mizukage. I placed a genjutsu upon him with my mangekyo, trapping not only him but the bijuu as well. He was simply my puppet as well as the scapegoat for people to blame. And he served his purpose well."

Obito could only at Tobi with what appeared to be a small amount of pity. 'To think that this could have been me….'

"I don't need your pity either!" stated Tobi as he brought his right arm backwards. "Now die, Obito!"

Obito brought his hands together and started to inhale as Tobi shot the the wooden spikes that had formed on his right arm at Obito.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

Tobi scowled as the wooden spikes were completely burned by the fireball. He narrowed his eyes as Obito inhaled again.

**"Fire Style: Hosenka!"**

Tobi watched as the barrage of smaller fireballs were exhaled out from Obito's mouth.

Reaching into his cloak, Tobi was pleasantly surprised to find sets of shurikens and kunais. He then jumped upwards as the fireballs reached his location before throwing the shurikens at Obito as well as inhaling just like Obito had done.

**"Fire Style: Hosenka Tsumabeni!"**

'Clever bastard,' thought Obito as the barrage of fire covered shurikens made its way towards him. Obito then brought his hands down on the ground.

**"Earth Style: Doryuheki!"**

The earth wall appeared in front of Obito, completely blocking off Tobi's attack.

'I need to get in this,' thought Kakashi as he struggled to free himself from the chains but found that he couldn't. They were wrapped around him tightly, making him unable to use his arms or hands. Not only that, but they also blocked his access to chakra. He was pretty much useless at the moment.

'This is my chance!' thought Tobi as he rushed at the earth wall, pushing chakra to his feet to jump over it. 'I'm going to have to use it Izanagi….'

Obito looked up to see Tobi jumping up from on top of the earth wall.

'I still have something that you don't,' thought Obito as his Susanoo began to appear around him.

'So you even have this!' thought Tobi in frustration while in midair. 'But let's see how you can react to this…'

Obito narrowed his eyes before they widened as Rin appeared beside him.

"Please stop, Obito…" pleaded Rin while tears began to form in her eyes.

Obito chuckled humorlessly. "So you would even go this far…."

The 'Rin' beside him disappeared. Obito looked up to see the energy sword from his Susanoo piercing Tobi in midair.

"I'm not stupid enough to fall for a trick like that," stated Obito with narrowed eyes. "If you plan to defeat me, you'll have to do better than that."

Tobi's face was transformed to that of a shocked one before a dark smirk appeared on his face. "I'm not so stupid either, Obito…."

The Tobi in midair disappeared making Obito's eyes widen. 'Izanagi!' realized Obito in his mind.

Obito then turned around to see Tobi behind him, rapidly forming handseals.

'Oh no you don't!' thought Obito as his Susanoo brought its sword towards Tobi who smirked before disappearing.

'No!' screamed Obito in his mind, having realized what Tobi had done but was too late. The next thing he knew, he felt something sticking out from his chest. Looking down, Obito wasn't surprised to see that it was a kunai sticking out from his chest.

Tobi laughed wildly from behind him. "You're done, Obito!"

Obito chuckled despite the fact that blood was coming out from his mouth. "So you teleported yourself from the dimension to the real world only for you to reappear inside my Susanoo, did you?"

Tobi whose other sharingan had already been deactivated since he had sacrificed it to use Izanagi didn't respond.

Obito then smirked. "But it seems that you have also underestimated me…."

Tobi could only look on in anger as the Obito in front of him disappeared, only for another Obito to reappear a distance away in front of him with one of his eyes closed as well.

"So you also used Izanagi," said Tobi in anger, having already guessed what Obito had done.

Obito brought his right hand up towards his face to touch his now useless left eye, chuckling. "So this is what you must have felt like, huh?"

Tobi growled. "Don't compare yourself to me."

Obito shrugged as he lowered his hand away from his face. "You're right, I really shouldn't. No matter what I do, you're still be the crappy version of me."

"I've had enough," said Tobi. "Let's end this little charade already, Obito."

Obito smirked at his other self. "Now there is something that we can both agree on, Tobi…."

Tobi didn't offer a response. Instead, he simply brought out another kunai from within his dark read cloak.

Obito for his part brought out his chains, one of his preferred weapons in combat.

Both Obito and Tobi were silent as they looked at each other, both with their single right mangekyo sharingan eye. The next moment, the two were in front of each other, one with the chains that were strapped to both of his wrists while the other with a single kunai in his right hand.

Time seemed to slow down as the two prepared to attack the other. Tobi brought his hand that held the kunai forward, intent on cutting Obito down. Obito for his part brought his chains forward, intent on trapping Tobi within them.

On the sidelines and currently watching this at the moment, Kakashi could see that the one called 'Tobi' was slightly faster than Obito. 'Is he going to….?'

Tobi had also noticed this fact as his face twisted into an insane look as his kunai almost reached Obito. 'This is it for you, Obito!' he screamed in his mind.

And to the outmost pleasure of Tobi and the shock of Kakashi, he reached with his attack first, causing a major and fatal cut to Obito's upper chest near said individual's heart.

Tobi could only laugh like the madman that he was until he noticed that Obito's chains were wrapped tightly around him with said shinobi now being behind him instead of being in front of him like he had been just a second before.

"How did you…!"

Obito smirked despite the fact that he felt extreme pain at the moment as he could feel Tobi boring a hole in his back. "You celebrated too early, my old pal. I can still move…."

It was at that moment that Tobi realized that he had been tricked. Obito had let him cut him so that he would not try to escape. And in his thinking that he had won, he had not notice Obito continuing with his attack.

Tobi could only growl as he tried to teleport himself out of the dimension world only to see that he couldn't. Not only that, but he also felt his mangekyo deactivate.

Obito chuckled as he freed his wrists from the chains. "These chains of mine block your chakra. You're now as powerless as a civilian, Tobi. But I also made these especially for you…."

Tobi could scream in anger as the chains around him began to glow. "YOU BASTARD!"

Obito chuckled even though more blood started to flow out his mouth. "It seems that you and I were really truly different in the end. Different sides of the same coin, I suppose. But this is the end for the both of us, Tobi…."

Tobi gritted his teeth as the chains begin to glow even brighter. "Go to hell…." he simply said, accepting his fate.

Obito turned his head to look at his other self. "Yeah, I will. And I'll also see you there soon. You don't have to worry about that."

Tobi merely lowered his head as the chains finished glowing as they blew up, destroying his bodies into pieces.

'So Mikoto's theory had been right,' thought Obito as he looked up at the sky in his dimension. 'Destroy the head where the seal is and the jutsu is deactivated. Heh, sure beats the hell of trying to seal them away for sure….'

Obito then fell to his knees as he felt the pain in his chest grow. 'Hashirama's cells should be able to take care of this, but….I just don't give a damn anymore,' he thought as the world around him started to crumble.

"So that's it, huh?" said Kakashi in a soft tone as he looked as how his surroundings began to crumble all around him. The sky above his was crumbling into pieces as well as the ground beneath his feet.

"Yeah," replied Obito. "Without me, this world cannot exist. It seems like this will also be your grave, Kakashi."

Kakashi shook his head. "There's nothing for me anymore out there in the real world at any rate. I don't understand fully what's going on, but you're clearly the real Obito. And like me, you have also given up on life now."

Obito chuckled. "So you noticed, huh?"

"I did," answered Kakashi. "It looks like we both ended up with nothing in the end. What a sad ending…." With that, Kakashi looked up just to gaze at the supposed sky of this world only to find it completely empty and dark. Heh, it was fitting realized Kakashi as he closed his single eye.

'Mikoto is gonna kill me,' thought Obito with a dark smirk as the ground beneath him started to break up completely before he started to laugh.

His laughter was the last thing that could be heard as the dimension was completely destroyed.

* * *

><p><strong>"Fire Style: Endan!"<strong>

Naruto simply let the flame bullet reach him before repelling it with his rinnegan.

Jiraiya frowned as he noticed this. 'Nothing seems to be working. Is this the power of the rinnegan? Not even Nagato could this….but then again, he also probably could but I never had the chance to see it,' thought Jiraiya, remembering how it had been Naruto that had defeated Nagato. Or who Jiraiya thought had been Nagato at the very least. He was still a bit confused on that part. Had it been Nagato or Yahiko? At any rate, that currently didn't matter at the moment.

They were currently standing of what had once been the Uchiha compound except it seemed that the village had decided not to rebuilt it. And why should they? There were no more Uchiha that were aligned to the village after all. It would have been for nothing.

This was something that Itachi noticed as he stood facing a calm looking Madara a good distance away from where Naruto and Jiraiya were currently fighting.

'I can't blame them though….' thought Itachi, referring to the fact that the village hadn't rebuilt the Uchiha compound.

Madara didn't care about this in the slightest.

Naruto brought his sword in front of him. 'It's time to test this out….'

**"You know what it can do?"** asked Kurama as he himself didn't know.

'Yeah,' simply answered Naruto. 'The memories keep coming back to me for some reason.'

Jiraiya took a step back as Naruto rushed him. 'I can barely see him!' thought Jiraiya as he prepared to defend himself.

But he wasn't prepared for Naruto throwing the sword towards him. Jiraiya cursed as the sword spun wildly towards him.

'No choice,' thought Jiraiya as his hair grew and began to surround him like a shield. A kunai was useless against that thing as he had already found out. And it wasn't like he was a swordsman either.

Naruto smirked as he noticed this. 'Just what I was hoping for….you fell for it, you idiot!'

Sharp spikes grew from Jiraiya's hair as the sword came into contact with it. Jiraiya screamed in pain as the sword actually succeeded in cutting right through his hair defense as well as embedding itself into his left shoulder.

'Impossible!' thought Jiraiya as he felt himself actually be pushed back from the force of the blow from the sword. Any other sword would have been blocked by his hair!

Naruto was in front of him the next moment, his right hand on the dark colored handle of his sword. Naruto immediately took out the sword out from its position on Jiraiya's shoulder with said shinobi screaming in pain.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

'Not again!' thought Jiraiya as he was blown back into the debris of what had once been part of the Uchiha compound.

'Just what was that?' thought Jiraiya to himself as he tried to stand from his downed position. 'That hurt except it wasn't physical pain. It was pain that I have never felt before….' Of course he was talking about the attack from the sword, not the jutsu. The jutsu had hurt physically. Like I a bitch too...

Naruto couldn't contain the laughter that escaped his lips as he placed his sword on his shoulder again. "I think it's time that I educate you in just what exactly this sword does…."

"And what is that?" said Jiraiya as he tried to stand up but found the action to be extremely painful. But why was that?

Naruto's face gained a dark smirk. "It's one of its powers that gives it its name…."

Naruto paused for a few moments as the red streaks that ran trough the whole sword even its handle began to glow a dark crimson color.

"Its power is that of taking the energy source from a person, mainly the energy from a person's soul," stated Naruto with the smirk still on his face. "That's why its name is….the **Seikatsugakari**, the taker of life…."

Jiraiya simply stood there in stunt silence.

"That is what you just felt," continued Naruto. "I just took part of your life source. Even you have a soul at the moment. That's how you're here after all. But that's just the boring part. The fun is what I can do with this energy…."

Jiraiya's eyes widened yet again as a crimson energy began to surround Naruto. It felt even more potent than the one of the Kyuubi. But how was that possible!?

Naruto's face turned into a twisted grin. "The fun part is that the sword transfers the energy back into me for my own use. It basically enhances the power that I currently possess."

'But why does the energy feel so sinister?' wondered Jiraiya despite the fact that he was currently starting to feel scare once again. If he could stand, Jiraiya would have took several steps back as the same dark figure from before appeared to surround Naruto yet again, the same dark circular red eyes looking as if they were staring right into his soul. And thinking of the sword's power, Jiraiya realized that those eyes were probably doing just that.

'There's more to this sword then this….' realized Jiraiya as he finally stood up.

"Now, shall we resume?" said Naruto with a twisted grin.

Jiraiya didn't respond. He could still feel the figure staring right at him.

Jiraiya bit his thumb as he proceeded to summon the elder toads. 'It's my only chance,' thought Jiraiya. But it would take some time. Now, how to stall? If he could only get the rest of the village to know what was currently happening...

Naruto pointed the sword at Jiraiya for a second time. "Let's go, sensei…."

The same dark circular red eyes still stared straight at Jiraiya who could feel that this was just the beginning of the worst possible outcome that was going to happen.

* * *

><p><strong>"So Obito is dead..."<strong>

"Oh...that's too bad."

**"It was probably his choice at any rate. I find it hard to believe that Tobi could have defeated him. But I suppose that's that."**

"Yeah. I'm more interested in Naruto's sword right now though! I didn't even know that it existed until today."

**"That makes two of us..."**

A grin. "But now, let's see what an army of me can do to this village! HAHAHAHA!"

Black Zetsu didn't respond as White Zetsu broke down in laughter. He could feel the cells from Hashirama that Madara had injected into Obito stop functioning. It could only mean that Obito was now dead. But that was just the beginning. He didn't even have to look behind him to know that there currently stood a whole sea of White Zetsus. They were currently on top of the Hokage Mountain, preparing to begin their attack.

**'It's our turn now...'**

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Damn, something has got to be wrong with me. I said that I wasn't going to update this fast and yet I do the exact opposite! Oh well….no one is complaining, right?**

**In any case, I can't help myself right now. Not only that, but I got a lot of free time at the moment and probably will for the next week or so. I always have nothing to do in the beginning of my summer vacation. But whatever. Those are my problems. Well, I wouldn't even call them problems…**

**Getting to the chapter, yes Obito is dead. And no, Naruto will not revive him. That's that. It was his moment and this was kind of his chapter as well. He's the first to go. Who's next….? I had also planned for the whole reason for Tobi causing the civil war in Kiri. Although the reveal of as to why Rin was killed is a major help. Also, there's one more power to Naruto's sword that will be revealed later as well as something else.**

**I hope you enjoyed it and don't wait long for the next one either. Like I said, I have a bunch of free time right now. Well, unless I get lazy or my will to write suddenly dies or something like that.  
><strong>

**And do tell me what you thought of Naruto's sword and its power. The props go to a friend of mine for giving me the idea.**

**And once again, REVIEW.**

**Well, till next time.**


	51. Invasion: Attack of the Zetsus

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…."- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 50:<br>Invasion: Attack of the Zetsus**

In another part of the village in what was designated as the 'war room,' a very tense and confusing meeting was currently taking place at the moment.

One Might Guy was currently looking around the room from where he currently stood or well, where he was actually sitting at the moment on the small cloth that was laid beneath him. He was trying to see any familiar faces. But all he could see was one Yuuhi Kurenai that was currently sitting next to him on his right.

Of course said jonin kunoichi was currently staring at the empty space of the floor in front of her with a blank look, the same one that she had worn in recent weeks ever since Asuma had died as well as Kiba.

But Guy didn't dwell on her too much. He had come to accept the new Kurenai and, while not too happy with her change in attitude, he knew that there was nothing he could do to cheer her up. But something else did catch his attention, however.

'Kakashi is not here,' realized Guy with a frown after he had surveyed the room that was completely packed by both jonin and clan heads alike. 'But not only Kakashi, Neji is also not here,' thought Guy with a bigger frown.

He didn't like what had happened with one of his pupils. It seemed that Naruto's betrayal had hit Neji hard, even more so than the other rookies other than perhaps Sakura. Neji had gone back to being what he had been before Naruto had defeated him in the Chunnin exams those three years ago. But the bigger change had been Hinata as well.

Now that he thought of it, Guy also couldn't see said girl in the front of the room with the other clan heads. Maybe something was holding them up. Things had been extremely difficult for the prestigious Hyuuga clan why with their clan head being murdered by a rogue shinobi from their own village and then having a sixteen year old girl take charge.

Guy wasn't able to continue his train of thought as Tsunade walked into the room by one of the back entrances that stood behind from where her desk stood in front of the large room, also being flanked by both Koharu and Homura, the two advisors.

But if she was back from the Land of Iron, shouldn't Kakashi be here also? And for that matter, Kabuto should be here as well. It wasn't that Guy was particularly fond of the man, but that was the logical assumption after all.

Tsunade took her seat that was placed on the other side of the medium sized wooden desk, both Koharu and Homura taking seats that were placed on either side of Tsunade's desk with a small desk for each one of them. From Guy's perspective, Koharu sat on Tsunade's right while Homura sat on her left.

"I apologize for the rushing in which this meeting was called for, but it can't be helped at the moment," began Tsunade in a commanding tone, the same one that she had used when leading shinobi in both the Second and Third Shinobi Wars. "We have an intruder in the village that has already killed five of our comrades…."

'Naruto,' thought Guy immediately. Of course, that was the only logical choice. No one besides the holder of the legendary Kyuubi and the wielder of the legendary rinnegan would warrant enough emergency for a meeting such as this to be called for. Well, in this period of time at least.

"If I may ask, but who is this intruder?" questioned Shibi from the front of the room.

"Uzumaki Naruto," simply responded Tsunade as she closed her eyes momentarily, waiting for the response that would occur from this announcement.

Many of the jonin present in the room went on a rampage in their seats from hearing this.

In the front of the room, one could hear Tsume grinding her teeth in anger. After all, Naruto had been the one to kill her son.

"ENOUGH!"

All of the noise that had begun to occur from Tsunade saying who exactly was inside their village died from the loud command from the same blonde woman.

"We cannot allow for ourselves to fall easily in Naruto's traps anymore," said Tsunade while bringing both of her hands together in front of her. "If he's still in the village, which he probably is, we need to act fast to stop Uzumaki Naruto as soon as possible. He needs to be brought in for everything that he has committed as well as to what he's planning on doing…."

"With permission, just who has he already killed?" asked one random jonin from the back of the room.

Tsunade sighed but seeing no other way to say it, she simply answered with, "Uzuki Yugao and her squad of anbu."

Guy saw a flicker of movement to his right, causing for him to glance at the direction. What he saw was Kurenai looking forward towards Tsunade, obviously having heard her.

'That makes another close one gone,' thought Guy with a sigh. Of course both Kurenai and Yugao had been close. But apparently Yugao was now dead. That had to be another major slap to the red eyed beauty.

"We need to make sure that their deaths weren't for nothing," continued Tsunade, "as well as with all of our other fallen comrade that have been killed by the actions of Uzumaki Naruto. We need to stop him. Otherwise, their souls will not rest in peace!"

This was met with a great voice of approval from the jonin as well as the clan heads. It would seem that they were all on the same page here.

But before this could continue, Shizune suddenly appeared in front of Tsunade's desk with said kunoichi having had changed into her jonin uniform. Currently there was great despair befalling her facial features.

'I'm going to regret this….' thought Tsunade with an internal sigh as she signaled for her apprentice to say whatever the problem was. Tsunade already knew for a fact that it was a problem that Shizune was going to report to her. That was something that was clear to Tsunade by this point, and she was also willing to bet on it now.

"Tsunade-sama, we have multitude intruders approaching from the stone faces of the past Hokages," quickly reported Shizune.

Oh, well that didn't sound _too _bad.

"How many targets?"

Shizune could only shake her head. "We don't know. The protective barrier around the village estimated it in the tens of thousands if not more…."

…..Fucking Shikaku with his questions. Now, that sounded bad. No, way worse than bad.

Tsunade could only bring both of her hands on the desk in front of her, causing multitude of web cracks to appear on its surface. Every person in the room felt pity for the abused piece of furniture.

"That's an army right there….." muttered Shikaku, extremely troubled by this fact. All those who had heard him had to agree with the lazy Nara.

"The barrier has also picked up several strong chakra emanating from where what is left of the Uchiha compound stands," continued Shizune with her report. "One is significantly larger than the others, however….."

'Naruto,' thought Tsunade immediately. It had to be him! But what was he doing in the ruins of the Uchiha compound? Of what significance was that place to him? And to whom did the other chakras belong to?

"We need to move then," said Tsunade immediately after she had finished with her train of thoughts, standing up from her chair where she had been sitting down.

"The main battle groups will go to intercept this force that has trespassed into our village. We need to identify the enemy at once as well as to stop them. I will take a small group of a selected few to accompany me to see what exactly is going on at the Uchiha compound. Is that understood?"

"HAI!" was the immediate response from everyone present in the room.

"Then let's get a move on!" said Tsunade as all of the jonin and clan heads filed out of the war room.

In all of this, no one but Guy and Shikaku had noticed the absence of the Hyuuga clan in the meeting. But with how things were, they decided to put that in the back of their minds for the moment.

* * *

><p>Hinata stood in front of the entrance of the massive Hyuuga compound with Neji right by her side. All members of the Hyuuga clan, be them members of the main house or branch members, were currently standing in front of her.<p>

"The once prosper village of Konoha is about to come at an end," began Hinata with the same commanding voice that Tsunade had used with her own shinobi.

Neji couldn't actually believe that it was Hinata who he was standing next to at the moment before shaking that thought away. He had more important things to think about than that.

The statement from Hinata caused all members of the Hyuuga clan to murmur to themselves in confusion. Just what the hell was their supposed 'clan head' talking about? Bad enough that they were already confused of being out here in the first place. Hadn't the Hokage called for an important meeting of all jonin and clan heads?

"Just what do you mean by this, Hinata….-sama?" asked one Hyuuga from the front of the gathered Hyuuga, almost having forgotten to add the respectful suffix to the young clan head.

Hinata merely shook her head. "It's exactly what it says. Soon, the village known as Konoha will not exist any longer. It will be completely annihilated, wiped from the face of the earth."

This caused even more confusion for the Hyuuga members.

"If that's the case, shouldn't we try to stop that from happening?" asked another Hyuuga with a raised eyebrow.

"No," answered Hinata without any hesitation. "From this point on, the Hyuuga clan owes no allegiance to Konoha anymore."

Now that brought a massive shock among all of the Hyuuga present. Just what the hell was their clan head thinking of doing!?

"That's suicide!" screamed a third Hyuuga in outrage. "Konoha will have our heads if we do that! Even we don't stand a chance against the whole village combined!"

Hinata smirked darkly. "But you've forgotten what I have already told you. This village will cease to exist soon. We are merely taking advantage of the situation."

"Just how do you know this?"

Hinata shrugged. "It's very simple. The man who is going to accomplish this has already told me of it. Not only that, but he's already begun his attack…."

"And who is this person exactly?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, our new leader," answered Hinata with a small smile while thinking of the said Uzumaki.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!" screamed some other random Hyuuga. "Are you seriously asking for us to follow that madman!?"

Hinata narrowed her eyes at the Hyuuga who had said this. "No, I'm not asking you. I'm ordering you."

"And what if we refuse?" said the Hyuuga who had spoken the first time with both a challenging tone and look. This was mirrored by all other Hyuuga present.

Hinata narrowed her eyes even further before she brought her hands together into the ram seal. "Then I'll activate the curse seal placed on every branch member who will in turn bring the rest of you down in order to stop the pain who will then be placed with the same seal, making you all my followers in the end. This is simply the easy and less painful way of the two…."

"The elders will never allow this!" screamed another Hyuuga in outrage.

Hinata waved her hands in dismissal. "They have already given me their full support. They agree with me that following Konoha will not benefit this clan any further." 'And they're now dead, so they can't deny any of this,' finished Hinata in her mind. Before the meeting had taken place, she herself had taken the honor of killing the fossils that made the council of advisors of the Hyuuga clan. They were going to be useless in the coming battle, and well she didn't like them either. Also, it wasn't like she cared for the Hyuuga clan at this point. She was merely using them because Naruto needed it for his plan to succeed. After that, they could all go to hell as far as she was concerned.

While all of this took place, Neji simply stood there with his arms crossed, an unreadable look on his face.

All of the Hyuuga present could only vow their heads in resignation. It was either this or they all get the cage bird seal placed on them which would ensure for terrible plan to befall them all. Besides, if even the elders of the clan were going through with this as well, they had no choice but to follow.

Seeing this brought a pleased smirk on Hinata's face as she brought her hands back to her sides. "I'm glad that you all saw reason at the end. You will not regret your choice, that I can guarantee you."

No one responded to her.

Hinata turned to look out towards the gate of the Hyuuga compound to where the rest of the village stood. "Then, let's go…."

'It's time,' thought Neji as he also faced to look at the rest of the village.

'My revenge starts here and now….'

* * *

><p>Kabuto could only bring his left fist to the ground next to him, punching it with all the strength that he could muster. He was currently a very unhappy….umm….snake man at the moment.<p>

He gritted his teeth in anger as one of the beads in the board in front of him cracked into tiny pieces. Kabuto already knew as to what that meant, and he did not like it one bit.

'Not only did I lose my control over Madara, but I now also lost Tobi as well!' screamed Kabuto to himself within his mind. 'His teleportation jutsu would have come in handy later on….dammit!'

But the even bigger lost was Madara. Kabuto had thought that the problem that he had faced in the Land of Iron when he had lost control of Madara was over, that it wouldn't happen again. But instead of that, the complete opposite occurred!

'I've been tricked,' thought Kabuto in anger as he recalled the scroll that he had taken from the ruins of Uzu in the underground tunnels beneath what had once been the main Uzumaki compound. 'The scroll lied to me….or was it something else?'

Kabuto shook those thoughts away for the moment. He might have lost Madara, which was a great loss indeed, but he still had a whole army of revived shinobi at his disposal.

'I still have the Nidaime Hokage along with the other past kages after all,' thought Kabuto as he began to calm down. Getting angry wouldn't get him anything. He needed to stay focus here.

Kabuto paused as the snake by his side informed him of what exactly was happening on the surface. It would seem that a whole army of White Zetsus had just arrived.

'So, they used Tobi's original plan then,' realized Kabuto with a small grin. 'Clever….'

He then brought his hands together into a handseal. 'I'll see how things turn up there before I join in. But for now, I'll take control of Itachi. He's my next best pawn that I currently possess. After all, I wasn't able to obtain the necessary genetic materials in order to revive Nagato. A pity…but I'll have to do with what I have.'

With that, Kabuto closed his eyes as he concentrated.

* * *

><p>Jiraiya took a step back as a wild wind began to blow around the area as the crimson energy surrounding Naruto began to spin even more widely around said individual, preventing Jiraiya from seeing very clearly.<p>

'Just what is that energy!' thought Jiraiya in complete frustration. 'Naruto said that the sword collects the energy from that of a soul, but I'm pretty sure that my soul is not this rotten!'

Naruto still possessed the twisted grin on his face as he looked at how frustrated Jiraiya was getting. Not only that, but Naruto could also see fear present within his old teacher.

The thought caused for Naruto's grin to become even more twisted, if that was even more possible. At last, after all of that waiting, he was finally able to just release everything that he had hid deep within his heart.

Jiraiya still had his hands clasped together, trying to gather the necessary chakra in order to summon the two toad elders.

'But I'm going to have to buy myself some time before I can summon them….c'mon, Tsunade! Somehow, know what's happening here so that you can get your fine ass over here in order to help me out!'

Jiraiya came out of his thoughts as Naruto wordlessly rushed at him again, the dark energy still surrounding him. But now knowing what the sword could do, Jiraiya was prepared to avoid it at all cost.

The second before Naruto reached him, a cloud of smoke surrounded Jiraiya.

'Summoning,' thought Naruto as he stopped himself, realizing what Jiraiya had done. Looking up, Naruto saw again for a second time the figure of Gamabunta.

Gamabunta let out a puff of smoke from his pipe. **"Again with this crap…."** he muttered but thanks to his size, everyone could hear him.

"Sorry about this, Gamabunta," began Jiraiya with a serious look on his face as he looked down to gaze at his old student, "but I'm currently in need of your assistance at the moment."

**"That's what Minato said as well,"** commented Gamabunta, **"before I was almost turned into a fried toad!"**

"Minato?" said Jiraiya with a confused look but wasn't allowed to question the large toad whose head he was currently standing on when Naruto appeared right behind him, the two standing back to back with each other.

"I told you to make this fun for me, Jiraiya," stated Naruto in nothing but a whisper. "But so far, you're doing a horrible job at it. I could have already killed you multiple of times by now…."

Despite the fact that Jiraiya had faced death numerous of times in the past, he couldn't stop the sweat of fear that started to appear on his forehead. It was like he was talking to the god of death himself right now!

The crimson energy around Naruto began to move on its own, backhanding Jiraiya off Gamabunta's head and into the ground below.

**"You vermin!"** exclaimed Gamabunta in anger.

"You're of no importance to me now," said Naruto as he brought his sword upward, ready to slice the toad boss who had once been his ally.

**"You'll pay for what you did to us!"** stated Gamabunta as he tried to shake the silver haired jinchuriki off him. A few seconds later though, he came to a complete stop as Naruto had planted his sword right into the toad's head.

'Now, give me your energy!' exclaimed Naruto in his head.

As Jiraiya made to get up from his spot on the ground, his hands still clasped together, right before his very eyes Gamabunta began to age and wither like a flower right before his eyes. It wasn't long until the giant toad simply turned into ash.

'So this is what happens when all of your energy from your soul is consumed,' thought Jiraiya with a slight gulp. 'He could have done that to me already as well….'

Naruto jumped off the now dead Gamabunta as said toad's ashes began to be blown away by the wind, only for him to land right in front of Jiraiya.

Naruto turned to look at his one time sensei with a now bored look on his face. "You know, you're really beginning to bore me. If you're not going to do better than this, then I'll just simply kill you now and be on my way of doing the same thing with every other person in the village."

Jiraiya frowned momentarily before he inhaled once more.

**"Fire Style: Dai Endan!"**

'Simply making the jutsu bigger is not going to mean that it will work,' thought Naruto as he simply brought his freed hand in order to absorb the attack. But for what he wasn't prepared for was for Jiraiya to appear from within the jutsu itself.

'Oh?' thought Naruto with a raised eyebrow, ducking downwards in order to dodge the kick that was sent his way from the Sennin.

'Better, but not good enough!' thought Naruto as he appeared in front of the the now surprised Jiraiya, gathering a multitude of the crimson energy into his left hand which was not the one currently holding the sword.

Jiraiya screamed in pain as the now compressed form of energy hit him straight in the gut, sending him propelling backwards a good twenty feet with him landing on his back.

'That was just like the Rasengan,' thought Jiraiya in pain. 'But it hurts a lot more than a regular one….' Jiraiya tried to stand up but found that his body didn't allow for him to do so just yet.

'Dammit….I need to make sure that my hands stay clasped together! But I'm almost there. My sage mode is my only chance of defeating Naruto at the moment.'

But he wasn't allowed to rest for too long as he was sent flying backwards some more from the shockwaves that were sent by Naruto by his screaming into the the crimson energy that surrounded him.

'Just how many uses are there to that energy!' thought Jiraiya in even more pain as he finally managed to get to at least to his knees with his ears stinging like a bitch. 'That was just like a banshee….'

But as he looked at the wild and untamed looking crimson energy that continued to spin all around Naruto who was beginning to advance towards him, Jiraiya realized that he had probably not seen anything as of yet.

* * *

><p>On the other side of the destroyed Uchiha compound, two blurs could be seen as they continued to clash with each other. One was holding a gunbai while the other one was holding a simple kunai. But that didn't mean that he was any less dangerous with it.<p>

As the two blurs clashed with each other one more time, they suddenly became visible. Madara was on one side while Itachi was on the other, the two trying to push back the other back as they stood face to face, gunbai clashing with kunai.

"Even your skill with a simple kunai is impressive," commented Madara with a small amount of praise in his voice.

"I'm the type of shinobi that prefers to do things in the dark," replied Itachi in a stoic manner.

Madara smirked at him. "Oh? You mean like when you sacrificed yourself for this rotting village while everyone else thought of you as a criminal?"

Itachi didn't respond to that. Instead, he brought his kunai backwards, ending the clashing with Madara's gunbai. Then he brought his left foot forward, sending a powerful kick towards the gunbai which made Madara be pushed back for a few meters in his surprised state.

"Not bad," said Madara as Itachi jumped backwards to put some distance between the two.

Itachi's eyes widened partially as wood began to grow in front of Madara, taking the form of a giant tree with Madara now standing on top of said tree.

"Now, shall we continue," said Madara with another smirk.

Before he could respond, Itachi's eyes changed, looking as if they contained no life at all now. It was like if he was a walking corpse now.

Madara narrowed his eyes at this. 'So, Kabuto has taken over now….'

Itachi's normal sharingan shifted to his mangekyo, making his Susanoo in its complete form come to life all around him.

'So, now things get serious,' thought Madara with anticipation.

**"Yasaka no Magatama!"**

Madara watched as several magatamas bound together by a thread of chakra began spinning at a fast rate towards his location on top of the tree.

Madara's own Susanoo flared into life and used both of its sword to deflect and to send the attack flying back towards the now possessed Itachi.

Seeing this, Itachi's Susanoo brought its shield forward, succeeding in blocking off the attack.

'That shield is going to be a problem,' realized Madara as he looked down at the unmoving Itachi. 'What a shame….for someone like you, Itachi, to be reduced to a simple mindless tool. But that's how things turned out, I suppose.'

Giant wooden spikes began to come out of the ground all over around the area, completely surrounding the area where Madara and Itachi were currently fighting.

'Let's see how you handle this, Kabuto,' thought Madara as he brought his hands together.

**"Taju Mokuton Bunshin!"**

Itachi still held the blank look on his face as a large number of wood based clones of Madara appeared all around said Uchiha on top of the giant tree. Not only that, but the clones also had their own Susanoo activated, although in its simple form.

'As I thought, this will not be so simple,' thought Itachi or rather Kabuto who was currently taking control of Itachi's body.

"Shall we continue?" said Madara with another stoic look, a look that all of his clones also wore.

Itachi readied himself.

* * *

><p>In the one peaceful village of Konoha, things were now the complete opposite of the word 'peaceful' at the moment. And why was that?<p>

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that every civilian in sight could be seen taken down by an army of white individuals. Said individuals cutting though anyone who would come near them. The civilians could only run for their lives, trying to get into one of the evacuation sites.

The White Zetsus were on rooftops as well as on the ground. Fires had broken out through the whole village at the cause of this surprised attack.

This was a sight that one Haruno Sakura would never have thought that she would see again as she ran through a deserted and destroyed street behind Shizune and two other shinobi. Their names were Aoba and Genma if Sakura recalled correctly. Well, she at least recognized Genma as the proctor of the final phase of the Chunin exam all those three years ago which now seemed like a dream to her. In her mind, things had still made sense back then.

The village had already been destroyed once by Naruto, so for it to happen again….

'No!' screamed Sakura in her mind, her face becoming determined. 'I can't let that happen!'

She was broken out of her thoughts as a blur suddenly appeared in between where Aoba and Genma were running.

'Who!' thought Sakura with wide eyes as she came to a halt.

**"Hakkesho Kaiten!"**

Both Aoba and Genma grunted in pain as the spinning attack known only to the Hyuuga clan hit them both straight on, sending them both flying backwards into a different deserted building.

"Neji!?" said Sakura with wide eyes when she noticed who had been responsible.

Shizune for her part was also in shock as she turned to look at whom they had both thought were their ally.

Neji didn't respond to her. He was about to go after Sakura until someone else landed beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder in order to stop him.

"If you don't mind," said Hinata with narrowed eyes as she looked at Sakura, "I would want to kill her myself."

Neji for his part spared Hinata a glance before turning away from Sakura in order to face a still shocked Shizune.

"Do whatever you want," simply replied Neji in response.

Shaking her head in order to get over her shock, Shizune screamed, "Just what is the meaning of this you two!? What do you think you're doing!?"

"It doesn't concern you," responded Neji. "Just know that the Hyuuga clan is no longer part of Konoha."

"We're on Naruto-kun's side now," finished Hinata with a smirk.

Sakura gasped. "But why!?"

Hinata could only shrug. "Because I love him."

Neji didn't offer her a response.

"So you're traitors then," stated Shizune with narrowed eyes as she prepared to fight the now rogue jonin in front of her. 'Tsunade-sama needs to know of this….'

"Well, if that's all that you wanted to know, shall we get started?" said Hinata as she activated her byakugan.

Sakura's hands turned into fists as she looked at Hinata. "Yeah, let's."

Neji, who already had his byakugan activated, simply looked at Shizune with a cold look.

* * *

><p>All over the rest of the village, the rest of the rookies along with every other shinobi were currently facing the same problem.<p>

At first, they had only been fighting an army of white individuals that were not that tough to take down. But now, the Hyuuga clan shows up fighting alongside them!

This made the Hyuuga members have the element of surprise in the beginning which resulted in them managing to kill many unsuspecting Konoha shinobi. This betrayal hit many Konoha shinobi deep in their hearts as well.

On top of the Hokage Mountain, White Zetsu could only watch this with glee as he gazed at the destruction that his other selves were causing.

"Hahaha!" he laughed. "This is better than I thought it would be! Too bad that Obito missed this…."

**"It happened,"** said Black Zetsu in response from his side. **"He most likely didn't want anymore to do with this. He was also a mystery, even to me. I think that's why Madara liked him the most. It wasn't easy to see what exactly was on his mind most of the time. But Obito did his part well. That's all that was required."**

White Zetsu grinned slightly. "I wonder what Mikoto is gonna do once she finds out that Obito is now dead…."

Black Zetsu paused at this. **"Yes, that will be worth seeing,"** he finally said.

White Zetsu turned his full attention back to the currently attacked village of Konoha. "For now, we should simply enjoy the show that is in front of us…."

Black Zetsu had to agree with his counterpart on that.

* * *

><p><strong>"Hari Jigoku!"<strong>

Naruto merely spun his still glowing sword in front of him, completely cutting down all of the hardened needle-like hair that were shot at him. If he did miss any, the crimson energy that still surrounded him deflected them on its own.

Jiraiya took a step back as he panted slightly. So far, he had tried about every trick that he knew to keep stalling for time in order to summon the elder toads. But Naruto easily defended himself against all of them.

Naruto could only sigh, his excitement from before having completely died off. "I don't know why you're still keeping your hands like that, but this has completely bored me now. It seems that this is apparently the best you can do. In that case," Naruto brought his sword forward, "I'm going to just kill you now, Jiraiya.'

Jiraiya gritted his teeth in anger at just being brushed off like that. But he had to admit that the silver haired Naruto had a point. He had defended against his attacks as if they were nothing! And well, to Naruto, they probably were nothing.

'Just one more minute,' thought Jiraiya in desperation. 'I just need one more minute, and I'll have the necessary chakra. C'mon, Kami! I've never asked you for much, but at least do that much for me!'

And his prayer seemed to have been answered as both he and Naruto turned to look to their right, well in Jiraiya's case it was the left, towards the direction of the village to see an incoming and very pissed off Tsunade who was followed by Guy, Tsume and her partner dog, Ibiki, and surprisingly Iruka.

"Oh," said Naruto with a dark grin, "now it's a party!"

Tsunade could only scowl as she stopped a few distance away in between where Naruto and Jiraiya were currently fighting.

"Hime," muttered Jiraiya. 'So she did come after all….'

"So this is where you were, you little brat," growled Tsume in anger.

Both Guy and Ibiki merely stayed silent.

And Iruka for his part could only look at Naruto in desperation and sadness.

"So this really is all of you're doing," said Tsunade in obvious anger.

Naruto simply shrugged as a response. "Guilty as charged," he said with a dark grin.

Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya for a moment and immediately understood as to what was going on and who was responsible as well. 'Kabuto….little bastard!'

"So," began Naruto as he shouldered his sword, "are you here to give me a better challenge than of what Jiraiya has given me so far? Because I really hope that's the case since I'm extremely bored over here….."

"We're here to talk you out of this nonsense," answered Iruka as he stepped forward.

"Speak for yourself," muttered Tsume.

Naruto shook his head in obvious amusement to what Iruka had just said. "You're still so stupid, Iruka. I've already told you that I'm not going to change. I've already decided that this is the path that I want to walk in. Your only choice in order to stop me is to kill me, nothing more."

"I don't believe that," said Iruka as he continued to walk towards Naruto. This was the whole reason that he had volunteered to come along in the first place. Because this is where Naruto most likely was at the moment and thankfully, his guess had been correct.

"If you truly mean that, then you'll have to-"

Iruka didn't get to finish as Naruto was in front of him the very next second, sword in hand which he had used to stab Iruka straight in the heart.

"Do what?" said Naruto with another twisted grin. His excitement was beginning to grow again. "Kill you? Well, I already beat you to that! Do you want for me to do something else?"

"Iruka!" screamed Tsunade but knew that it was too late for the once simple academy teacher. She shouldn't have ever agreed for him to come along!

Iruka's face was twisted in both surprised and sadness before it completely turned into ash along with the rest of his body.

'The old Naruto is truly gone,' thought Jiraiya sadly before his face hardened. 'But now, I'm prepared…..'

"Is that proof enough for you, _baa-chan_?" said Naruto in mockery. "Because if it isn't, I can think of many other ways to show it to you!"

Before Tsunade could respond, there was a sudden change in the dark atmosphere.

"That's quite enough, Naruto."

Looking to where Jiraiya currently stood, Naruto saw the changed form of who had once been his teacher. His face was more toad-like than human now. Not only that, but he now had two small toads resting on both of his shoulders.

'Oh?' thought Naruto with a raised eyebrow. 'Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to not kill him immediately after all….' he finished with another dark grin forming on his face.

"Is this what you were planning on doing all along?" asked Naruto as he shouldered his sword once more. Then, the dark and crimson energy began to grow, spinning even more widely around Naruto. "If that's the case, I hope it will serve to give me a good challenge, Jiraiya….."

Tsunade shielded her eyes as the wind began to pick up all around the nearby area, an act which was mirrored by Guy, Ibiki, and Tsume.

**"Jiraiya-chan, is that….?"** asked Fukasaku as he also shielded his eyes.

**"Just what is that dark energy!?"** questioned Shima from Jiraiya's left shoulder.

Jiraiya could only shake his head. "I don't know yet, but it doesn't matter. I have to stop him, and I'm going to need your help in order to do this…."

**"You can count on us,"** was Shima's immediate response. Fukasaku nodded his head in agreement to that.

"Thank you…." muttered Jiraiya.

'Jiraiya….' thought Tsunade, still shielding her eyes.

"Let's go, sensei!" screamed Naruto from within the dark crimson colored energy.

The dark figure from before seemed to get even more darker with its circular red eyes getting even more intense as well.

'Just what is that thing….?' wondered Jiraiya, sensing the extremely dark and massive power radiating from Naruto's sword now that he was in sage mode.

The dark figure seemed to grin darkly at him.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**And just like I thought, I wrote another chapter again this quickly. Whatever. That's just how things are, I suppose.**

**What can I say about the chapter….well, I'll let you be the judge of that. But as you can see, Naruto is finally showing what he has been suppressing for quite some time. He's going a bit psycho in the head, I'll admit. But….that's just how his character is now.**

**As you can also see, this is the beginning of the attack on Konoha that is commenced by both White Zetsu and the Hyuuga clan and then aided by Fu. So, look forward to that.**

**Oh, and someone asked if Naruto's sword was like Ragna's from Blazblue. Truth of the matter is, I'm not really a fan of the games. I'm not saying that they're not good as I have never played them, so I really can't say shit about them. But coincidently, yes that's what Naruto's sword looks like. I didn't think that there was another one like that….but there you have it. And it wasn't intentional either.**

**Well, I'll ask again for the reviews. Helps to tell me what to change or to keep doing for this.**

**Till next time.**


	52. An Useless Tool

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 51:<br>An Useless Tool**

In the center of the once proud village of Konoha which was now a war zone for the moment, one brown skin tight outfit wearing mint haired girl could be see running down a street with many Konoha shinobi trying to fight back the horde of White Zetsus that had invaded just about over an hour ago or so.

It wasn't that that it was _too _hard to take the weird looking individuals. No, far from it. It had to do with the damn large numbers that they had invaded in. If you took one out, three more would pop out of nowhere! And not to mention the fact that they could show up randomly from the ground or from walls on buildings and such.

With stealth and numbers on their size, it wasn't much of a surprise to see many dead Konoha shinobi bodies on the ground.

A random chunnin, having brought down a White Zetsu, immediately caught sight of the running Fu. Not recognizing her and therefore labeling her as an enemy, he rushed at her with a simple kunai in hand.

Seeing this, Fu momentarily scowled before she inhaled deeply, exhaling a moment later and shooting her sparkly substance from her mouth and onto the chunnin which instantly blinded him. Using this opportunity, Fu rushed at him in his temporary blind state and quickly took the kunai from his hands. She then proceeded to immediately behead him like she had done with Yugao. After the now corpse of the Chunnin fell to the ground, Fu went on her way, throwing the kunai on the ground behind her.

'Moron,' thought Fu with another scowl. 'I don't freaking have time for this!'

Thankfully, all other Konoha shinobi in the area were too busy trying to fight off the White Zetsus in order to pay any attention to her. It looked as if the Hyuuga clan had not arrived here so far.

'Great,' thought Fu sarcastically. 'Without any stupid civilians to ask, how in the hell am I suppose to find my way to where the damn Hyuuga compound is! This just plainly sucks….why couldn't they have held off their attacks for just ten more minutes or so!'

**"Calm down,"** advised Chomei from within her. **"Getting frustrated will not help you at all."**

'I know, I know….'

**"You could always ask one of the Konoha shinobi,"** suggested Chomei.

'Yeah, like they're going to tell me anything,' replied Fu with a roll of her eyes at that thought.

Before Chomei could respond, another being made his newly subconsciously arrived presence.

**"Fu, Chomei, are you there?"** asked Kurama in a calm tone.

'Kyuubi?' said Fu in surprise. 'How are you in my head? You're not sealed in me…..'

Kurama chuckled. **"It's the bond between jinchurikis and their bijuu, if you will. Both you and Chomei are close enough for me to communicate with you subconsciously. It would be possible for the rest if they were close enough as well…..'**

'I see….'

**"What is it that you want, Kyuubi?"** asked Chomei.

**"It's a message from Naruto,"** answered Kurama in a more serious tone. **"There is a special task that he requires from the two of you…."**

'And that is?' asked Fu but also wondering why Naruto hadn't just simply asked her himself.

**"You should know that the Hyuuga clan is now on our side because of Hinata's becoming the new clan head through the help of Neji, correct?"** questioned Kurama.

'Yeah, we know that already,' said Fu in response.

**"Well, soon they will be of no use anymore….like in a couple of hours at best,"** continued Kurama.

**"And why is that?"** asked Chomei.

**"That Uchiha woman should have arrived by then with the forces from Kumo,"** answered Kurama, referring to Mikoto. **"When that happens, we will have no further use from the Hyuugas any longer, including Hinata…."**

'Even Neji as well?' asked Fu with dread. Truth of the matter was that she sort of liked the stoic if not a bit innocent Hyuuga. He was cool as far as she was concerned, even if she didn't spend too much time in getting to know him save for the small period of time that she had spent in Konoha.

Kurama paused at this, as if thinking of what to say as an answer. **"No, not Neji,"** he finally answered. **"But everyone else….don't show any mercy."**

'Is Naruto really okay with this?' asked Fu.

**"Yes, he is,"** answered Kurama with no hesitation what so ever. **"The only reason that he even agreed for that Hyuuga girl to be part of this is if a situation like this were to happen as well as for his private entertainment. That is all. Otherwise, he would have simply killed her. He doesn't care about her in the slightest…."**

'I see….'

**"Don't let us down, Fu…."** said Kurama, cutting his link with the two afterwards.

**"Are you sure that you want to do this?"** asked Chomei quietly.

'Yes, I do,' was the immediate response from the mint hair colored jinchuriki. 'It's not like I care about Hinata either. She was just simply another person that was going to be killed eventually. But it seems that I might be the one to have to do it…..'

Chomei didn't respond. He was going to follow whatever Fu's decision would be. He only wanted to make sure that this is what she truly wanted. He didn't have any care for the rest of the human race, save for the perhaps the other jinchuriki and Naruto.

**"Then let's go."**

Fu smirked as she picked up her pace. 'Yeah. But I have to find them first though.'

With that, she continued on her way through the burning village.

* * *

><p>Back on the other side of the village where the once proud Uchiha compound had once stood, things were starting to become even more and more extreme.<p>

On one side on Tsunade's right stood her former and now revived teammate, Jiraiya. On her other side stood the person that was responsible for her even coming back to the village those three years ago, Naruto.

Naruto currently had the same twisted and exited grin that was becoming more and more frequent on his face ever since he had acquired the **Seikatsugakari** from the stone tablet and where all of this had begun.

Jiraiya's face was currently that of the one that he had wore during the two previous wars that he had fought. As much as it pained him, he recognized the fact that the Naruto that he had met and come to know was truly gone, his killing of Iruka having shown him that.

**'The rinnegan….'** thought Fukasaku from his spot on Jiraiya's left shoulder as he noticed the legendary ringed patterned eyes from within the wild spinning crimson energy. **'Could he be the Child of the Prophecy? In that case, it seems that instead of being brought up to save the world, he will now destroy it….'**

A sad thought indeed.

Shima for her part merely gazed at Naruto with narrowed eyes. There in front of her was the person that had killed Jiraiya whom she cared deeply for despite what her everyday actions showed. As well as to what said silver haired rinnegan wielder had done to her homeland those three years ago.

"More toads, eh?" said Naruto while glancing on the two small toads on both of Jiraiya's shoulders. "I've already seen them enough for my tastes today, or well…forever really."

Shima growled slightly before pointing an accusing finger at the now amused Naruto. **"You have no right to talk to us that way! Not after what you did to us!"**

"Feel lucky that I only did so little," retorted Naruto with a roll of his eyes. "If I were the person that I am now those three years ago, I would have simply slaughtered you all!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Jiraiya with a confused look.

The other shinobi on the sidelines were also in a confused state save for Tsunade who immediately understood what was going on.

'This must be about how he broke the summoning contract with the toads,' thought Tsunade in realization. She didn't know how Naruto had done it either since the toads hadn't told her anything either.

Naruto smirked at Jiraiya. "So, they didn't tell you, did they? I'm not surprised really….I kind of expected that."

**"Be quite you!" **shouted Shima in outrage. Fukasaku for his part merely watched this in silence. There really was no point in hiding this. It was done. Nothing they could do about it now. If only he had realized that Naruto had left Jiraiya though, he never would have agreed with the termination of the contract! And maybe then, Jiraiya would have been able to find the now silver haired Naruto and prevent all of this from ever occurring.

**'That was a big mistake on my part,'** thought Fukasaku with a silent sigh.

"Haven't you ever wondered how I was able to terminate my contract with the toads?" questioned Naruto with a slight shake of his head.

Jiraiya's silence was the response that Naruto received.

"Assuming from your silence, I'm going to take that as a yes," said Naruto with a chuckle filled with humor in it. Then he shrugged. "It's all very simple, really. I wanted to end my contract with the toads. Now, all that I needed to do was to get them to want to end it with me as well. And thankfully since you hadn't contacted them immediately, they didn't know that I had already ditched you by then. You gave me about a week head start, after all," finished Naruto with another smirk.

Jiraiya flinched at the reminder. At first, he had only thought that Naruto was training overnights like he had always done in the past, but that had not been the case this time.

Naruto then sighed. "The easiest way would have been to just simply kill them, but like I have already said, I wasn't that kind of person at that time. So, I had to think of another way." 'Well, it was Kurama that thought of this, not me. But they don't have to know that,' finished Naruto within his mind.

**"Your welcome,"** was the only response from said bijuu.

"Which was what?" asked Jiraiya, wanting to know this.

**"He defiled our homeland," **answered Fukasaku before Naruto could. **"Every single sacred place including the great elder's home, he completely decimated them. He completely destroyed sacred writings as well from thousands of years ago, even going as far as to burn some of them…."**

"My prankster side at work," commented Naruto.

**"That's not a prank, you brat!"** screamed Shima in outrage. **"They were sacred items to us that meant a lot to every single toad that lives there!"**

Naruto shrugged again, shouldering his sword in a bored manner. "And? I'm not a toad. I'm a human. I don't give a rat's ass about something like that, especially books."

"How did you even get there in the first place?" asked Jiraiya before Shima could burst out in rage once more.

"I simply tricked Gamakichi into letting me in," answered Naruto like it was nothing.

**"He still hasn't gotten over that…."** muttered Fukasaku.

"Like I've already told you, I don't care," replied Naruto before his face turned dark. "You toads should be grateful that I was still naive back then. That I was still ignorant as to how this rotten shinobi world really works. That I just didn't simply kill all of you and be done with it. But now, that's not the case." Naruto gripped his sword more tightly as the crimson energy around him began to pick up again. "You're all just an useless tool to me now. And just like I have already killed Gamabunta, I'm going to do the same with you…."

That shocked both Fukasaku and Shima to the core. That Gamabunta was dead now.

Jiraiya momentarily frowned before going on all fours, discarding his wooden sandals. Both of his hands and feet began to grow, taking the appearance of that of a toad as well as his face.

'Now this is interesting,' thought Naruto as he prepared to attack Jiraiya. But he wasn't prepared for Tsunade to suddenly appear in front of Jiraiya.

"Oh?" said Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "Are you going to join us, _baa-chan_?"

'Tsunade-sama….' thought Guy from the side. Tsume was simply looking at Naruto in anger while Ibiki had a calm look on his face.

Tsunade frowned slightly before reaching into her green green jacket-like clothing that she wore, taking out a small book a second later.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as soon as they landed on the book. 'Could that be…..?'

"This is the journal of the Sandaime," stated Tsunade, immediately confirming Naruto's thoughts. "In here, it lists everything that happened during his reign as Hokage as well as the attack on Uzu…."

But Naruto already knew this. That was the reason that he had been trying to acquire it in the first place. At first, he had decided to go after it first but then changed his mind, preferring to go after the **Seikatsugakari** first rather than the journal. But it seemed that Tsunade had saved him the trouble of looking for it in the first place.

"Is that so?" said Naruto with a fake curious look on his face, feigning to not know of the journal's existence until now. "And what of it?" asked Naruto.

Tsunade's frowned increased before she threw the journal on the ground, right in between where she and Naruto currently stood. "It says of how exactly the strike force from Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri managed to bypassed the defenses of Uzu that night."

Naruto was silent for once. This was the last thing that he wanted to know as of now. The scroll that the spy that he had planted in Danzo's Root had given him mentioned of the journal's existence. Naruto was confident that the Sandaime had known more about the attack than of what he had let on. And it seemed that he was right after all.

"It was a combined effort," continued Tsunade, "between Danzo and Orochimaru."

'Just like I thought,' thought Naruto but allowed for Tsunade to continue.

"Orochimaru was in Uzu for 'personal visit," began Tsunade while holding back a snort. But Naruto didn't. "And since he was from Konoha, no one suspected him. While there, he somehow gained access to the information of how to dispel the whirlpools around Uzu as well as the barrier," continued Tsunade with another frown. That was something that the journal had not specified which was how exactly Orochimaru got hold of that information. "Orochimaru then gave this to Danzo who in turn sold it to Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri while giving Orochimaru protection and help with his _experiments_," finished Tsunade with a scowl on her face. That was the whole reason that Orochimaru had even taken part in that. Simply for the funding and protection that Danzo could provide him with the experiments that he was beginning to conduct at that time. And Danzo? He had just wanted Uzu out of the picture, period. They were already going to obtain Kushina which was all that Danzo truly wanted.

"So you see, it was all Danzo and Orochimaru that are responsible, not the village!" stated Tsunade, hoping that this gamble would pay off.

Naruto for his part had been silent the whole time until Tsunade had finished talking. Once she did, however, he bursted in laughter. "Hahaha! That's rich, Tsunade! Thinking that with just this, I would call all of this off! Oh, that's just too much," said Naruto, bringing his laughter under control.

Once he did, he looked at Tsunade with unmasked amusement. "Let me fill you in on something, Senju. I already knew of the journal's existence before this. I also had already suspected that our friend Danzo was somehow involved in this. I'll admit, though, that I didn't think that Orochimaru had also played his hands in this. But that's simply irrelevant at this point. But to think that you would think that I'm stupid enough to fall for something like that…." Naruto shook his head in mock shame. "I'm disappointed in you, Tsunade."

Tsunade's hopes had just died off right then and there.

Not paying attention to this, Naruto continued, "The very fact that the old man wrote that in his journal proves that he knew of everything but didn't even lift a damn finger to stop any of it! Besides, even if that wasn't the case, the attack will go on. Nothing can stop it now."

"You," said Tsunade while grinding her teeth together in anger. She had just made her last bet in trying to stop Naruto quietly without a confrontation, but she had just lost it in the manner of seconds.

"The betrayal of Uzu which resulted in the destruction of my clan is just half of the reason that I'm doing all of this," explained Naruto. "The other half is for my own benefit!"

'I suspected as much,' thought Jiraiya in remorse from behind Tsunade.

"This village casted me out without a good reason, so now I'm just simply going to return the favor. That's all there is to it," stated Naruto. "No other hidden motive than that. And you can call me an immature brat for doing all of this for a reason like that as well, but I just don't give a damn anymore. Not with all of this power that I now posses!" And as if to agree with him, the sword on Naruto's shoulder began to glow even more strongly, as well as the crimson energy surrounding him.

Tsunade could only take a step back. There was nothing else for her to say about this.

"If that's all, shall we get on with this?" said Naruto, his grin from before starting to return.

He then rushed at the unsuspecting Tsunade only for his path to be blocked off by none other than Jiraiya.

'He's gotten faster,' observed Naruto before his smirk got even larger. 'Perfect!'

**"Choodama Rasengan!"**

"You're gonna have to do better than that, sensei!" screamed Naruto as the crimson energy surrounding him successfully blocked off Jiraiya's attack.

"I'm just getting started!" retorted Jiraiya, trying to penetrate Naruto's shield with his attack.

Tsunade could only shield her eyes as a big explosion resulted from the collision as well as with the others present.

* * *

><p>In another part of the village, another confrontation was currently taking place. And that was between two Hyuugas and two medical shinobi.<p>

'I need to inform Tsunade-sama of this,' thought Shizune while preparing herself in case Neji attacked.

"Shizune-san, go," said Sakura with determination. "I can take care of things here. But Tsunade-sama needs to know what's taking place here."

Neji snorted at that. Did the pink hair medic really think that she could handle him? He didn't even think if she could take Hinata let alone with him in the mix.

"Sakura…." muttered Shizune, clearly surprised.

"And here they call Hyuugas arrogant," muttered Hinata with a roll of her eyes.

"Just go!" replied Sakura.

Standing there for just a moment longer, Shizune jumped towards a nearby rooftop, taking off towards Tsunade's position.

Seeing this, Neji was immediately right behind her.

Sakura was about to stop him when she suddenly jumped back from her position thanks to Hinata appearing in it a moment later, right arm extended.

Neji didn't even glance back as he followed behind Shizune, intent on stopping her.

"You don't have time to worry about someone else right now, Sakura," said Hinata while taking her gentle fist stance. "Because you should be worry about your own safety right now."

Sakura gritted her teeth in frustration at this. 'We're both at a disadvantage here,' thought Sakura, quickly assessing the situation. 'We're both deadly at close combat, meaning that we can't get too close to each other. Otherwise, it could end bad for either of us….'

Hinata was also thinking of this at the moment. Her only chance would be too somehow incapacitate Sakura's arms as quickly as possible in order to stop her monstrous strength, the same being said about Sakura. Hinata's arms and hands were her best weapon after all.

'Whoever accomplishes this first will be the winner of this battle,' thought Hinata.

Thinking the same thing as Hinata, Sakura decided to rush at the said female Hyuuga in order to catch her off guard. But Hinata was prepared for this.

**"Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho!"**

'Dammit!' screamed Sakura as she stopped herself from hitting the newly formed barrier around Hinata that was made entirely of chakra based blades.

'What is this jutsu?' wondered Sakura, having never seen it before.

"This is both my ultimate defense as well as my offense," stated Hinata from within the chakra barrier.

"Offense?" repeated Sakura, obviously confused.

Hinata smirked. "That's right….now, die!"

Before her very eyes, Sakura saw the chakra based barrier turn into extremely thin and sharp blades, all that were pointed straight at her. Seeing what Hinata was trying to do, Sakura punched the ground beneath her feet with all her might, causing for a crater to occur beneath her as well as for it to spread towards Hinata. It was like an earthquake really.

'No!' screamed Hinata in her mind, frustrated as she lost her balance, making her lose control of her chakra momentarily which caused for her barrier to be dispelled. The jutsu required for extreme concentration and chakra control.

Hinata then jumped backwards in order to dodge the incoming Sakura that appeared from the sky. Said pink haired kunoichi delivered another strong punch to the ground, causing it to shake for a moment as if there were a second earthquake occurring.

'Damn that strength of hers,' thought Hinata as she landed a safe distance from where Sakura now stood.

"I'm going to beat the life out of you!" exclaimed Sakura, fixing her gloves for a moment.

Hinata smirked at her. "What is this? Would you possibly be jealous that Naruto-kun chose me, but not you? Well, you are useless after all. Just like you were back in the academy."

Sakura was quite at this. Was she jealous? But she couldn't be! She loved Sasuke!….Right?

"It doesn't matter what you think of me," replied Sakura after a moment of silence. "I'm still bringing you in for betraying us as well as for what you did to your father. That's a promise. You can count on that!" It was pretty much clear to Sakura now that Hinata had something to do with the death of Hiashi so that she could become the clan head. Neji was probably involved in that as well.

Hinata ran a hand through her hair that was currently still tied in a ponytail. "We'll see about that, Sakura. And you're also right. I was the one that killed my father," said Hinata like it was nothing, completely shocking Sakura. "But I really don't feel like wasting any more time on you. After all, I want to see Naruto-kun again."

Sakura didn't respond to that. But she didn't have to.

Not waiting for a response, Hinata brought both of her hands forward in front of her.

Sakura took a step back as she felt the air around the girl Hyuuga began to change. 'What is she up to now?' thought Sakura.

**"Juho Soshiken!"**

Two lion-shaped shrouds of chakra formed around both of Hinata's hands. Seeing this, Sakura readied herself. She didn't know exactly what this attack could do, but she knew that it would be bad if she were to be hit by them.

'She thinks that I'm coming to her,' thought Hinata in amusement. 'Well, you're mistaken!'

Sakura's eyes widened as Hinata extended her right hand forward which caused for a third lion-shaped shroud of chakra to appear from the right hand which was shot straight at her.

'It's a long rage attack too!' thought Sakura, clearly surprised at this revelation.

A second before the attack impacted with her, Sakura brought her left fist forward, smashing it with the chakra attack and succeeding in repelling it.

Hinata narrowed her eyes as she saw this. 'So, she used her own chakra to dissipate my own when she hit it with her fist, eh? Clever. But let's see how you handle multiple of them!'

Sakura frowned as she saw more of the incoming attacks coming at her. 'Not good!' she screamed in her mind. She brought both of her fists forward this time and started to smash all of the attacks that were coming her way. But there were simply too many of them. Eventually, she was starting to become overwhelmed.

So busy in trying to repel all the attacks as well as to not get hit by them, Sakura wasn't ready to defend herself as Hinata suddenly appeared behind her.

'No!' thought Sakura as Hinata brought both of her still lion-shaped shrouds of chakra covered hands forward, aiming for Sakura's shoulders.

"This is it for you!" stated Hinata as she hit both of Sakura's shoulders, pushing said medic shinobi a few feet away.

Sakura screamed in pain as she felt all sensation on her shoulders disappear as she was pushed forward from behind. She slowly turned around which proved to be a mistake as Hinata was in front of her the very next moment, bringing both of her hands forward again and attacking her stomach area this time.

Sakura screamed for a second time as she flew back, creating a new small crater with her body as she landed on the ground on her back.

"That's it for you, Sakura," said Hinata with another smirk as she walked towards the downed Sakura, intent on finishing the job. Here was the girl that had had the very thing that Hinata had always wanted which had been for Naruto's love. And she hated Sakura for it. After all, she loved Naruto so why should he fall for another girl with said girl not having the slightest bit of feelings for him?

"It's just not fair," muttered Hinata as she stood over the body of Sakura. "But now, I get to pay you back," she finished with a dark smirk as she brought her left hand upward.

The next moment though was one of the most surprising for Hinata. Before she knew it, Sakura was up from the ground and in front of her with her right arm around her neck, ready to slam her into the ground.

"What!" screamed Hinata in outrage.

**"OKASHO!"**

The next moment, Hinata felt the greatest pain that she had ever felt course through her entire body as Sakura slammed her into the ground, creating a bigger crater than any of the other ones before.

"You…." was the only thing that Hinata could say before blood started to come out of her mouth.

A moment afterwards, Sakura fell to the ground on her back with her feet touching Hinata's as a result of this.

"You shouldn't even be able to use chakra anymore," said Hinata as more pain began to spread through her body as she laid in another makeshift crater.

"You aimed for my shoulders, so I merely pushed all of my chakra to my hands as much as I could," explained Sakura, no longer being able to feel her upper body other than her head.

'But her arms should have been useless!' screamed Hinata in her mind before it clicked. "You…"

Sakura chuckled. "Yeah, I broke my bones in my arms as a result of my forcing my last attack," she stated, already guessing what Hinata was going to say.

"Why would you go that far?" asked Hinata, clearly surprised that Sakura would actually go that far in order to defeat her.

"Because I don't want to be a nuisance anymore," answered Sakura. "I also didn't want to lose to you either. I'm going to make you pay for everything that you have done. I promised you that after all."

Before Hinata could respond, both kunoichi heard clapping. Turning their heads left, well for Hinata it was to the right, they both saw Fu sitting on the edge of a nearby building who was also the one currently clapping.

"Well done, you two!" said Fu with a small grin. "I must say that that fight really surprised me! Maybe you two aren't so useless after all!"

"Fu…" said Hinata with a small growl.

Fu smirked at the downed Hyuuga. "Well, nice seeing you again! I must say that you have changed from the last time that I saw you…."

"What are you doing here?" asked Hinata, interrupting Fu.

Fu shrugged as she stood up before jumping off from the edge of the rooftop and landing in between both Hinata and Sakura. "Well, I was here to rendezvous with both you and Neji, but it seems that that will no longer be necessary."

"What is that suppose to mean?" asked Hinata with a scowl.

Sakura for her part merely watched all of this in silence.

"It means that you are now an useless tool for Naruto," answered Fu with a dark undertone in her voice. "An useless tool that I'm here now to discard for him."

"That's not true!" denied Hinata with wide eyes and a frightened expression on her face. "H-he said that-"

"He lied," interrupted Fu as her green armor came to life. "You were nothing more than a nuisance for him. He never cared for you from the beginning. That is all there is to it."

"NO!" screamed Hinata. "That can't be true!"

"But it is," replied Fu as the scales on her right arm began to grow. "You're through, Hinata. Goodbye."

Hinata screamed one more time before Fu silenced her by shooting her scales from her armor right at Hinata's head, effectively killing her in an instant.

Sakura could only watch this with wide eyes. "How…how could you-"

"That is of no importance to you, monkey," interrupted Fu, calling Sakura by the nickname that she had given her. "After all, you're next."

Fu then turned to the downed and now frightened Sakura, intent on doing the same thing to her before she found herself unable to use or to mover her body.

"What?" said Fu in surprise.

"Shadow possession, a success."

Hearing this, Fu moved her eyes to the side only to see a kneeling male Konoha shinobi with a female one next to him.

"Shikamaru, Ino!" said Sakura in obvious happiness at seeing the two familiar faces.

Fu was beginning to see that this was going to be an annoying day for her.

* * *

><p><strong>"Gatsuga!"<strong>

Naruto growled in frustration as he saw the fast approaching attack from the Inuzuka clan.

"Out of my way!" he shouted, completely annoyed as he repelled the attack with his rinnegan.

Tsume and her partner dog were sent flying back.

'She's letting her anger get the best of her,' thought Ibiki with a shake of his head as he stood next to Tsunade in front of a kneeling and panting Jiraiya that currently had no left arm and was in the process of regenerating it.

**"He's strong,"** stated Fukasaku.

"We know that much," retorted Tsunade with a slight roll of her eyes.

Guy was currently in the process of attacking Naruto, trying to get around the crimson energy but not getting much of luck of succeeding.

"Your taijutsu will not work on me," said Naruto as he extended his left arm forward. The next moment, Guy felt himself being pulled forward.

'Not good!' screamed the green jumpsuit wearing shinobi within his mind.

But before he be pulled entirely towards the blade of Naruto's sword, Guy fell on the ground.

"What?" said Guy, clearly confused. He then gazed at the unmoving Naruto in front of him in confusion.

"He's under my genjutsu," answered Ibiki from his spot next to Tsunade. "It seems that he's still weak against that."

'I wonder about that,' thought Tsunade with narrowed eyes before they all heard the sudden laughter that emanated from Naruto.

"Hahaha! You actually think that simple genjutsu will stop me!" screamed Naruto before gripping his sword and rushing at Guy.

"He broke free!" exclaimed Ibiki in surprise.

"I can see that!" retorted Tsunade as she rushed at Naruto as well, intent on stopping him.

Guy was on the defensive, dodging all the strikes from Naruto's sword.

'He's fast,' thought Naruto before turning his attention up to the air to see an incoming Tsunade with her left leg raised up.

**"Tsutenkyaku!"**

'Fuck!' thought Naruto before using his rinnegan.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

Both Tsunade and Guy were sent flying back just like Tsume had been,

'Too many damn nuisances,' thought Naruto in complete frustration. "Oi, Jiraiya! How long do you plan to hide behind these idiots!?"

Jiraiya frowned before standing up, his left arm having been regenerated. "I'm not hiding," he retorted. "I simply still have comrades unlike you."

Naruto chuckled. "That's where you're wrong. I also have comrades. The difference, though, is that I don't need my comrades to fight my battles for me. I'm more than capable of handling things on my own."

"We'll see about that," said Tsunade as she immediately took her place back on Jiraiya's side with Guy standing next to Ibiki and Tsume next to Guy. "We will stop you."

Naruto was silent for a few moments before he broke down in laughter yet again. "Have you forgotten that it was me that took on all of the Hokages as well as Madara with his brother and still won!?" said Naruto.

Jiraiya's eyes widened at this as well as all of the others' present except for Tsunade's as she had been there to see that happen after all.

"I was just simply toying with you, seeing as I want to enjoy this as long as possible," continued Naruto, his crazed look returning. "But if you want for me to show you just how helpless your situation exactly is, then allow me."

As soon as he finished, Naruto's Susanoo appeared around him in its complete form with both swords in hand. The crimson energy gave the already red existing shroud of the Susanoo an even more sinister look to it.

**'The Susanoo….'** thought Fukasaku, completely in shock. The same could be said about the others.

_**"Hehehehe…."**_

Naruto paused as he heard laughter coming from somewhere from his head, but it didn't come from Kurama.

_**"You want to use my real power, don't you?"**_

'What the hell is this?'

All others present watched as the crimson energy began to grow even more powerful, completely surrounding both Naruto and his Susanoo in a giant tornado-like form.

"What the hell is going on!?" screamed Tsume in complete frustration.

"Something tells me that we're not going to like the answer to that," muttered Tsunade as the wind began to pick up again. They shielded their eyes again as they could only stand there, awaiting to see what would happen.

Naruto soon found himself floating in empty dark space of nothingness. It reminded him of where the Juubi currently was.

"This is…."

_**"Uzumaki Naruto…..I've been expecting you."**_

Naruto looked around as the voice seemed to be coming from every direction. "Who is this?" he calmly asked. It wouldn't do him any good if he were to suddenly have a panic attack.

_**"That is an interesting question. I suppose you may call me by what you named me as….the Seikatsugakari."**_

* * *

><p>Outside of the village on a nearby cliff overlooking the village, five individuals wearing the Akatsuki uniform could be seen standing next to each other.<p>

"Bastards…..they've already started without us!"

"Shut up, Suigetsu! You should be grateful that you're even here at all!"

Suigetsu turned his head away from the angry looking redhead. "Whatever, Karin…."

"Konoha, eh?" said Yugito in a soft tone as she looked at the said village that was currently being attacked.

**"Don't worry, kitten! Somewhere down there, your mate is currently causing havoc!"**

Yugito didn't even bother to correct her bijuu by this point.

Bee merely watched the village in silence from behind his shades.

**"So this is Konoha…."** commented the Hachibi from within Bee's mind. **'Kyuubi….'**

Sasuke gazed at the village for a moment before his eternal mangekyo subconsciously activated.

"Let's go," said Sasuke as he jumped off the cliff and down towards the forest below, intent on arriving as soon as possible to his target.

The others simply followed behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Oh man, another chapter again. You know what, I'm not even going to say anything anymore. I'll simply just keep doing my job that I'm not even getting paid at doing….that sucks.**

**But some of the remaining questions were finally answered in this chapter. Speaking of which, yes that was the only way that I could see for Naruto to get rid of the Toad Summoning contract other than him killing any of them. His character at the time wouldn't have done something like killing the toads. So he just simply destroyed a lot of things until the toads got tired of him. Don't like it? Too bad. That's that.**

**And if you're worried that not enough characters are getting killed, then don't worry. More character deaths will occur. Just be patient.**

**Well, that's it for me this time. Don't be shy and review!**

**Till next time.**


	53. Taker of Life

**"Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…" Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>_**  
>"Hmm…"<strong>_**- Naruto's sword**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 52:<br>Taker of Life**

_**"Uzumaki Naruto….I've been expecting you."**_

Naruto simply grinned in response as he continued to float in the lifeless, empty, and dark space.

"Expecting me, huh?" he repeated with amusement. "That's funny. I'm pretty sure that we had already gotten pretty acquainted."

_**"Well, you were wrong. It seems that you don't know everything about me just yet, do you?"**_

"I'm pretty sure that you already know the answer to that, so there really is no point in you asking it. For that matter, don't beat around the bush either. Just what is it that you want to tell me?"

_**"An impatient one you are I see."**_

Naruto hmph'ed slightly at that. "It has nothing to do with impatience…..okay, maybe a little. But you should also know what's currently taking place right now and why I want to be out there to enjoy it."

All around him, Naruto heard laughter. But it wasn't so dark as before. It was more of an amused laughter belonging to a person that was currently enjoying what he or she was watching at the moment.

_**"Yes, I know. You're trying to destroy the place that you once called home…..ironic, isn't it? You betrayed them in the same way that they betrayed your clan."**_

"I'm not going to deny that," stated Naruto, crossing his arms in front of armored chest. "I knew from the beginning that going down this path wouldn't make me any better than them. In fact, you could say that in some ways I'm worst than they are…."

_**"Hmm…in what ways exactly?"**_

Naruto chuckled. "Once again, you probably already know the answer to that already, but I'll humor you." Naruto paused for a moment before continuing, "You could say that I'm simply using my clan's betrayal as a justification to destroy this village."

Not hearing a response, Naruto continued, "Even if that weren't the case, even I have to admit that some of the people in the village aren't exactly guilty of what occurred to my clan."

_**"And yet, you continue to push forward down your dark path…."**_

Naruto chuckled for a second time. "You didn't hear me. I said if I didn't have another motive for doing what I'm doing. But that's not the case here. I find the whole village guilty for what they did to me."

_**"Are you certain about that? From what I've gathered, everything that was put in place was for your own protection, not your harm. As well as to the fact that it is more of the older generation's fault for your past."**_

Naruto grinned at that. "You….you've been looking through my memories, haven't you?" Once more, there wasn't a response. Seeing this, Naruto carried on. "Maybe you're right. I don't deny the fact that what the Yondaime did was for what he thought as 'honorable' intentions, if you will. He was the Hokage, after all. But….that doesn't justify what he did as a parent. He left me alone in the hornets' nest, if you will. And for that, I will never forgive him."

_**"But you forgave your mother,"**_ interrupted the voice that came from all directions. _**"I know for a fact that while she was inside your mind for that period of time, your minds overlapped together in some instances. You saw what happened that night….and yet, you still forgave her but not your father. I can't help myself but ask why. Why did you forgive her?"**_

Naruto closed his eyes at hearing the question. He was silent for a few moments before answering, "Honestly, I really don't know why. It just happened. Before long, I found myself trusting her completely as well as not feeling anything negative of her. I guess it has to do with the fact that I know that she felt sorry for how things went that night and that she wants to atone in any way possible. Her joining me is the proof of that, I suppose."

_**"I see…."**_

"And you're also right about what you said about the older generation being at fault," continued Naruto, his eyes still closed. "But their children carried their sins. I don't have a single doubt in my mind of what they would have done if they had known just what exactly I was from the beginning. They would have judged me just like their parents. That's how we humans are, after all. We fear the unknown, those things that we cannot comprehend or understand fully. That is why I have no remorse for them when they die."

Naruto then shrugged as he opened his eyes, rinnegan activated and glowing as it was surrounded by the darkness all around the empty and bare space. "But you could also say that I just simply don't give a fuck about them at all, period. And why should I? If there is one thing that I have learned all these years is that things such as trust and companionship are hard to come by, especially in this current rotting shinobi world. They were never my comrades in the first place. I was just simply a tool for this village. And at what end? If that was how I would have lived my life, then I happily choose the life that I'm currently living. At least here, I'm not a tool for anyone."

_**"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Uzumaki Naruto."**_

Naruto merely stared at the darkness all around in silence, simply awaiting for the voice to explain itself.

_**"Everyone is a tool at the hands of destiny. No one can escape its grasps, not even you. No matter how strong you become. It was the same in your past life or should I say as the Rikudo Sennin. He too was simply a tool as well. Although this time around, it seems that things will go the opposite of how they did in the past."**_

"And what do you mean by that?"

There was chuckling once more. _**"You should know the answer to that already, Uzumaki. In the past, you fought for peace. Now, you fight for destruction. In the past, you were a creator. Now, you are a destroyer. In the past, you created this flawed shinobi world. Now, you will destroy it."**_

Naruto was silent at this, knowing for it to be true.

_**"It's the prank from fate itself, I suppose. That this is how things turned out to be."**_

"And what about you?" asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "Where exactly do you fit in all of this?"

_**"That is another interesting question and one which I do not have an answer to. I'm just simply another tool, quite literally of course. I've just simply been around long enough to see some of the strings is all."**_

"But not your own," said Naruto with a small grin.

Another chuckle. _**"That's correct. But that is where our conversation leads us to. The whole reason that you even created me as well as for giving me the name of 'Seikatsugakari' all those years ago."**_

Realization struck Naruto as fast as lightning hits the ground. "So you were the one that was giving me the knowledge of how to use you…"

_**"Correct. The Rikudo Sennin gave you the knowledge of where to find me as well as to how unlock the seal that was placed around me, but I was the one that gave you the knowledge of how to use me as well as to how my power works. But not entirely so. There's a few things that I left out on purpose…."**_

"And those are?" asked Naruto.

_**"It ties with the whole reason that you even sealed me into that tablet in the first place."**_

Naruto could tell that the sword, or 'Seikatsugakari,' was somewhat bitter about that fact. But Naruto simply stayed quite, allowing for the sword to continue in order to know what exactly happened to have forced the Rikudo Sennin to seal this sword in such a strategic manner. After all, none of the other tools that he created had been sealed. So there had to be a reason.

_**"I'm the first of the the many weapons that he created that became known as 'The Treasured Tools.' I'm also the most important one for one very important reason."**_

"And that reason would be…..?"

_**"It was through me that the Rikudo Sennin managed to defeat the Juubi in order to seal it within himself."**_

* * *

><p>"Shikamaru, Ino!"<p>

"Don't worry, Sakura!" exclaimed Ino from Shikamaru's side to the downed Sakura. "We'll stop her!" It seemed that she had already gotten over her father's death as well as Choji's. Or well, she didn't really have a choice at the moment. She couldn't sulk in the middle of the battlefield, after all. That would just be plain stupid.

"More of you show up, eh?" muttered Fu with a sigh as Shikamaru's jutsu still controlled her for the moment.

"I should have suspected that you would be a traitor in the end, Fu," said Shikamaru with narrowed eyes. "You were the only person that Naruto ever hung out with when he was here, after all."

Fu chuckled at that while glancing at them seeing as she still didn't have control of her body yet. "What? Are you jealous? Cause if you are, that would just be creepy you know…."

Shikamaru simply ignored the joke. "Seeing that you currently can't go anywhere right now, why don't you tell me where Naruto is at the moment?"

Fu's eyes widened in a comical fashion as she heard this before she started to giggle. In a few seconds, she fell into a laughing fit. "Hahaha! Oh my, don't tell me that you're actually thinking of fighting against Naruto!?"

Shikamaru's silence was the response that the mint haired jinchuriki received from the Nara.

"Woah, you're serious?" asked Fu with a surprised look, obviously having believed that Shikamaru had only been joking.

Seeing this, Shikamaru frowned. "What exactly is the problem with that?"

A second later, Fu fell into another laughing fit which annoyed Shikamaru. "Oh Kami! And here I thought that you were the smart one!" exclaimed Fu in obvious amusement. And why shouldn't she? Here was a single chunnin saying that he was planning on defeating _Naruto_ of all people! Granted, said Chunnin was well above the skill of said rank but nowhere near Naruto's level at all either. Fu knew that she herself didn't stand a chance against the said rinnegan wielder. She also knew that she could defeat the Nara in front of her. The math did itself right there. If he couldn't defeat her who could not defeat Naruto, then there was no chance in hell that he would be able to defeat him.

"Let me tell you something that you have obviously still not fully comprehended just yet," began Fu with a small smirk.

"And what is that?" asked Shikamaru.

Fu looked straight at him with clear amusement present in her orange eyes. "You still think of him as the person that he once was, just like monkey next to me does," she finished while glancing at the down Sakura.

Hearing this, Sakura growled. "You don't know anything about us!"

If she could, Fu would have shrugged. "You're right, I don't. But I do know of the present Naruto. And let me tell you that he doesn't care about any of you in the slightest just like he didn't with the sleeping beauty over there," retorted Fu, referring to the now dead Hinata.

Shikamaru gazed at the ground momentarily in respect to Hinata. He still didn't know that Hinata had been a traitor either.

"You're just simply a fangirl," stated Fu at Sakura with no remorse. "I may not know much about any of you, but I at least know that much about you. All you've ever cared about was Uchiha Sasuke which begs the question as to why you're even trying so hard to 'rescue' Naruto in the first place. For what I have heard, you didn't even care about him in the slightest in the past."

Sakura simply growled again. Damn, how bad she wanted for her upper body to be healed so that she could be able to beat the girl in front of her to the ground. "That has nothing to do with you," she said through gritted teeth.

"Fair enough, I guess," was Fu's response before she turned her attention back to Shikamaru and Ino. "Now, I guess that you two will not let me go quietly, am I right? Because I really need to be somewhere right now…."

Shikamaru frowned. "I already asked you once….where is Naruto?"

Fu sighed. "It was funny the first time. Now, it's just plain stupid and annoying. But if you really want to know…."

Both Shikamaru's and Ino's eyes widened in surprise as the red chakra began appear all around Fu's armor covered body.

"If you really want to know, you'll just have to beat it out of me!" exclaimed Fu as she broke out of the control of Shikamaru's jutsu.

"She's free!" he shouted.

Ino was about to perform her jutsu but wasn't prepared for Fu to be already in front of her in the next moment.

"How did you-"

She didn't get to finish as Fu sent a powerful kick to her gut, sending her tumbling back.

**"Kage Senbon Rendan!"**

Fu simply stood there as the shadow needles attempted to pierce her armor. Key word is attempted.

"What!" said Shikamaru in shock at the fact that his attack was repelled by Fu's armor.

"That's not going to work on me while I have this on!" stated Fu as she rushed at the now worried Nara.

Shikamaru jumped back from his spot as he quickly dug through his kunai pouch that was located on his back. Finding what he was looking for, he threw multiple kunai with paper bombs attached to them.

The wings on Fu's back started to flap before she took to the skies just in the right moment before the paper bombs reached the spot where she had been running to.

'It's those wings,' realized Shikamaru as he looked up at the now flying Fu. 'Those are what give her her speed. If I could only take them out somehow….'

"You…." said Ino through gritted teeth as she held her gut in pain while looking up to where Fu was currently flying. Well, technically she was more like just hovering over the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Fu in obvious sarcasm, "did I leave a mark on your body anywhere? Because we all know that that would be a shame. After all, you have to look your absolute best when Sasuke arrives, right?"

Ino frowned at this. "Just how do you-"

"Know so much?" finished Fu with a smirk. "Because Naruto told me, that's how. We did have a few days all to ourselves in his apartment, after all."

Despite the situation, Sakura felt her face heat up at the insinuation. "What! Y-you mean t-that you a-and Naruto had-"

"Sex?" finished Fu once again with a smirk as she glanced at the blushing and now angry Sakura. "Yes, we did. Quite a few times actually." 'And then he did it with Mikoto-san too, but they don't have to know that,' finished Fu in her mind.

Chomei simply hmph'ed at the memory within Fu's mind but didn't comment.

"You talk too much!" said Shikamaru as he threw more kunai with paper bombs attached to them at the unsuspecting Fu. Or she seemed unsuspecting at least. Fu didn't even move an inch as the paper bombs exploded all around her, shrouding her in a cloud of smoke.

'Did I get her?' thought Shikamaru with a calculating gaze.

"Is that all you got?" said Fu with a now bored tone as the cloud of smoke cleared to reveal an unharmed Fu. "You know, I fought an anbu woman before this by herself, and I gotta say that she gave me more of a challenge than the two of you combine!"

"We're not through yet!" retorted Ino as she stood up.

"But I'm through with you," replied Fu before she started to inhale deeply.

'Not good!' thought Shikamaru as he made to jump out of the way. But before doing so, he turned to look at the angry looking Ino, "Ino, move!"

But it was too late.

**"Hiden: Rinpungakure!"**

Fu exhaled more of the shiny powder-like substance from her mouth with the quantity being enough to immediately cover the whole area, completely blinding both Shikamaru and Ino for the moment.

Ino could only frown as she looked around the cloud of the shiny substance that was all around her, blinding her for the moment. She could only see about a fee in front of her! Maybe even less.

"Ino!" shouted Shikamaru somewhere from her left.

She was about to shout back when she felt a presence behind her. Turning around as quickly as she could, she was surprised to see no one there.

"What is this?" she wondered to herself.

"It's a game."

Hearing the voice behind her, Ino never had the chance to turn around as she felt multiple objects impale in her back. She slowly turned her head around to see who it was only to find a grinning Fu standing right behind her with her right arm forward.

"This is it for you, blonde," said Fu as she retracted the arm from which she had used to shoot her scales from her armor from.

Blood started to ooze from Ino's mouth as well as from her back from where she had been hit. "Y-you…."

She never got to finish as she fell to the ground, face first. But she was still alive for the moment.

'Chomei's chakra will spread around her body, slowly poisoning it and killing it from the inside out. I could show her some pity and just simply ended it, but….I really don't feel like it.'

These were the people that all jinchuriki were fighting for. The ones that thought of themselves as better than people like jinchuriki were just because they had simply been born with the fate of carrying a great power within them. Not to mention the fact that they didn't even do this by choice either.

'Not to mention the fact that I really don't like her,' thought Fu before shaking her head. She still had another target to kill.

Fu then, for the second time, felt herself lose control of her body yet again.

Seeing this, she rolled her eyes. "I thought we already established the fact that your shadow-based jutsu don't work on me, Nara."

"Don't fuck with me!" came out the response from somewhere in the still present cloud of the sparkly substance. "Both you and Naruto have taken important parts of my life….I'll now return him the favor."

**"Kage Kubi Shibari!"**

Fu then glanced down to see a fast approaching shadow shaped that of a hand traveling up her body and towards her neck.

'So that's your game,' thought Fu with a smirk before Chomei's chakra began to surround her yet again. 'Unfortunately, you're gonna have to be faster than this, pineapple head!'

The shadow hand was completely blown back. Fu also felt the control of her body return to her.

"Much better," she said before the cloud of the sparkling substance surrounding the area began to disappear at her command.

Once it did, she heard a loud gasp. Turning her head to look at where Sakura was currently laying, she saw the said kunoichi looking at Ino's unmoving body with tears in her eyes.

Fu simply turned away from the sight to find Shikamaru.

'Now, where is he?' she thought to herself as she took several steps forward, surveying all of the abandoned buildings as well as the rooftops. 'Knowing him, he's probably thinking of a plan of how to defeat me,' she thought with a sigh. 'Now there's a bummer….I really hate strategists!'

**"No surprise there….."** muttered Chomei.

Having heard the bijuu, Fu was about to respond until she heard a loud thud behind her. Turning around, she saw a badly injured Shikamaru with one Nii Yugito standing over him with a smirk on her face.

"Looking for something?" she said with her smirk.

Fu merely scowled at this.

"Yo, Seven!"

Looking to a rooftop to her left, Fu saw a waving Bee just simply standing there.

"How did you guys find me?" asked Fu.

Yugito shook her head. "Have you forgotten that we're also jinchuriki? Both of our bijuu picked up the chakra from yours that you were using."

"Oh…." was Fu's smart response.

"We also brought some company," said Yugito while looking behind her just in time as Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Karin landed on the ground behind her.

From the side, Sakura's eyes widened. "S-sasuke-kun….?"

Sasuke merely cast her an uninterested glance.

* * *

><p>Naruto placed both of his arms in the back of his head as if he were laying somewhere and about to take a nap as he continued to float aimlessly in the empty dark space.<p>

"You know," he began, "for some reason, that doesn't shock me at all…."

_**"And why is that?"**_

"It explains as to why the Sennin even sealed you into that tablet in the first place."

_**"Oh? Please share your thoughts with me, if you will."**_

Naruto chuckled. "It all comes down to your power in the end. You weakened the Juubi by absorbing its soul energy."

_**"Yes, that about sums it up. Although, I'm not entirely sure how much of its energy I actually absorbed that day. The energy from the Juubi is limitless…"**_

"Even its soul?"

_**"Hmm….now that is something that I'm not entirely sure about. But the consequences of me absorbing the Juubi's energy is the key here."**_

Naruto raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

_**"In the beginning, I was merely just a sword. Well, still not just simply a sword as the Rikudo Sennin, or you, created me with the power of consuming one's energy from that person's soul in part thanks to his Onmyoton and In'yoton powers granted him by his rinnegan. He also forged me using his own chakra placed into my blade itself. But I didn't have a conscious like I do now."**_

"Let me guess-that occurred after you absorbed the Juubi's energy," said Naruto.

_**"Indeed. The Juubi's energy is not ordinary, after all. It gave birth to me."**_

'He was once a god, indeed,' thought Naruto. Something told him that the sentient sword already knew this.

_**"It was also at this time that my powers became what they are today. The more energy from souls that I collect, the more powerful that I myself become. That crimson aura….that is my power that is channeled through you. But as I gained my own thoughts, the Sennin must have decided that I was too dangerous to use any longer so he sealed me away into that tablet after the Juubi's defeat. Of course, that is what I had believed all this time…."**_

"Now you're thinking that he left you there for me to find you one day, right?" said Naruto as he closed his eyes again.

_**"Exactly. Which makes me ask the final question….what are you going to do now?"**_

Naruto shook his head at that as he opened his eyes. "Exactly what I had been doing before all of this happened. Nothing has changed in the slightest."

_**"Very well. Then, master, allow for me to share with you my **_**real **_**power…."**_

Naruto smirked when he heard that. "By all means, please do."

* * *

><p>In the real world, all the others present were still shielding their eyes as the crimson energy continued to stay in its tornado-like form.<p>

"We can't allow for this to go on any longer," stated Tsunade with a frown on her face.

"The allow me," was Guy's immediate response as he began to charge and ready his chakra, his skin turning red.

'Guy, you're going to….' thought Tsunade as Guy suddenly disappeared in an instant, only for him to reappear inside the of the wild spinning crimson energy.

"He actually got in there," muttered Tsume in shock.

"He's that fast," stated Ibiki with his hands in the pockets of the black trench coat that he wore.

Guy was immediately in front of the unmoving Naruto and ready to attack him, said silver haired shinobi having have had disabled his Susanoo subconsciously.

**"Hirudora!"**

Right before their eyes, the gathered Konoha shinobi saw Guy shoot out a massive punch in the shape of a gray tiger type animal.

"What is this!" said Tsume with wide eyes.

Jiraiya smirked. "The strongest taijutsu user in Konoha. No, maybe even the entire Elemental Nations."

Inside the crimson energy, Naruto's unmoving body raised both of his arms forward until they were in front of his body, his rinnegan eyes snapping wide open lest than a second after that.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

Guy along with his technique, hell even Tsunade and the rest, were blown back from Naruto's attack and counter move.

The others landed on their backs on the ground with a loud and rough 'thud.'

**"Jiraiya-chan, are you all right?"** asked Fukasaku.

"I'll live," answered Jiraiya with a chuckle at the irony of that statement.

"BRAT!" screamed Tsume as she stood up and began to run towards Naruto now still body with her partner dog right next to her.

"Don't be stupid!" shouted Tsunade as she tried to stand up.

The others didn't notice, however, the fact that all around Naruto's body red marks or lines began to appear. The most noticeable being in his face. The lines formed the shape of an eye right in the middle of Naruto's forehead between his other two real eyes. Two lines also ran down on each side of his cheeks.

**"Gatsuga!"**

The crimson energy began to die down as Tsume's fast spinning attack moved closer to Naruto's form. Said silver hair individual simply brought his sword forward in order to intercept the attack.

Seeing this, Jiraiya's eyes widened. 'That's suicide!' he screamed in his mind. Even he would dodge that attack from the Inuzuka clan rather than trying to counter it.

At the last moment before Naruto's sword met with Tsume's attack, the **Seikatsugakari **glowed crimson again, spraying Tsume will all of its energy.

All others present watched in shock as a loud scream filled with pain ran throughout the whole area.

Looking at the aftermath, they could just make out Tsume's burnt form laying right in front of Naruto's feet, her partner dog laying right next to her. It was clear to everyone present that she was dead.

Before anyone could react, Naruto raised his left hand in front of him, said hand also not being the one that was currently holding the sword.

**"Bansho Tenin!"**

Guy, having used a lot of his energy in the last attack, was simply pulled forward once more towards Naruto.

"No!" said Jiraiya as he rushed at Naruto.

"Jiraiya!" screamed Tsunade from behind him.

Time slowed down as Guy continued to be pulled forward with Jiraiya rushing from behind him in order to save him.

Guy narrowed his eyes as his skin began to turn red once more. No way in hell was he going down without a fight.

"Goodbye," muttered Naruto as he brought his sword forward.

**"Asakujaku!"**

Naruto's Susanoo bursted into life at this, completely repelling the flame attacks from Guy's last ditched effort.

Seeing no other alternative, Jiraiya began to form a Rasengan in his left hand in complete desperation. But he knew it was too late. He could watch with wide eyes as Naruto's sword pierced Guy's stomach completely, the tip of its blade sticking out in the back.

Guy merely closed his eyes as his body began to turn into ash.

**"RASENGAN!"**

One of the swords from Naruto's sword simply sent Jiraiya flying back, his body cut in half.

Naruto simply watched as Guy's body completely turned into ash, his Susanoo having protected him from the droplets of blood that had poured out due to the stabbing.

Naruto then focused on the fast approaching Tsunade. The markings on his face began to glow as his Susanoo completely disappeared.

"Naruto!" screamed Tsunade as she was in front of him, fist brought back and bringing it forward with all the strength that she could muster.

But Naruto simply brought his left hand forward, palm opened, in order to intercept the punch which he did. The ground beneath them cracked as a result.

Tsunade's eyes widened as she saw her punch be blocked by a simple open palm.

"H-how did you…" Tsunade could not finish her question.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

Tsunade grunted in pain as she flew backwards, coming into a stop into a small crater that she had just created with her body.

Naruto then turned to Ibiki who had his eyes narrowed in anger.

"Now, it's you," was all Naruto said.

"I won't go down easily brat," was Ibiki's response as the world around Naruto began to change.

'This again?' thought Naruto as he found himself trapped within what appeared to be a giant steel cage. Moments later, multiple chains began to wrap themselves around his body with Ibiki appearing in front of him the next.

"This is my strongest technique," he stated as he looked at Naruto with a cold look. Said silver haired rinnegan wielder was simply looking at him with a bored look. "Now, experience pain…."

"No," interrupted Naruto as his face turned into a twisted grin as well as the markings on his face glowing again, "you experience pain, Morino Ibiki!"

Ibiki soon found himself staring face to face with Kurama in a sewer like place, the chains from before now being wrapped around him.

"What is this!" he shouted as he struggled to get free from the chains before he tried biting his lip to draw blood in order to escape from the genjutsu.

But Kurama just simply grinned as he opened his mouth widely in order eat the human in front of him.

In the world, Ibiki let out a loud scream before he fell backwards on the ground on his back with his eyes rolled all the way to the back of his head.

"W-what…." muttered Tsunade as she tried to get up, having witnessed what had happened to Ibiki.

**"Jiraiya-chan!"**

**"Hang in there, kid!"**

Naruto shouldered his sword once more as he addressed the last remaining living individuals, "And now that all of our nuisances are gone, why don't we get started for real?" he said with a smirk.

* * *

><p>Outside of Konoha, something else was currently taking place at the moment as well.<p>

All around the main gates of the villages, shinobi numbering in the thousands began to enter the village of Konoha. These shinobi were dressed in the standard Suna uniform.

And up in the air, floating in his sand, stood the Godaime Kazekage, Gaara.

Gaara had both of his arms crossed in front of his chest as he watched the army that he had prepared for this moment enter the village through the East Gate.

'I never wanted for things to come to this,' he thought as he turned to look at the burning village in front of him. 'But you leave me no choice, Naruto…..'

Suna had just arrived in order to support Konoha.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Hmm…..well, I don't have much to say really. Except for maybe that, yes, Gaara had this prepared in case Naruto didn't listen to 'reason.' I just wanted for it to be a surprise which is why I never said anything about it. Gaara planned this out when he was thinking of what to do about Naruto in those three days before the meeting. That's all.**

**Also, hope you enjoyed the back story of the Seikatsugakari. Oh, and I've been getting asked a lot as to what exactly that means in english….well, just look at the title of this chapter and there it is! In case if you're also wondering as to why Jiraiya is working with Tsunade at the moment when he's in Kabuto's control...well, Kabuto is simply focusing on controlling Itachi for the moment as well as it helps him to capture Naruto, he will do anything.  
><strong>

**Speaking of chapters, does Sakura really think that she's caught up with both Naruto and Sasuke for simply having brought down those little….whatever the fuck those things that the Juubi began to produce. I mean seriously! Naruto has got all of the chakra from every single bijuu except for the Shukaku if I remember correctly, and Sasuke has the freaking EMS. And what the hell does she have? A diamond? Not to mention the fact that both Naruto and Sasuke had to save her….again. That just irritates me.**

**But whatever. Once more, I'm just venting. And review if you would! I finally got one thousand after all this time….**

**Till next time.**


	54. Backup

**Disclaimer: I don't freaking own Naruto  
>"Hmm…."- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 53:<br>Backup**

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

The fire technique that every Uchiha was known to use impacted with a tree branch from the giant tree that had been created a while ago.

Madara simply stood on top of the tree with his arms crossed in front of his chest as he watched the revived and controlled Itachi play a game of cat and mouse with the wood clones that he had created who also had their Susanoo activated in its simplest form.

"That was smart of you, Kabuto," commented Madara as Itachi dodged a swipe from one of the swords of one of the wood clone's Susanoo. Of course he was talking about the fact that Itachi had shot the fireball at the real him and not one of his clones. "Unfortunately, you're going to have to do better than that in order to defeat me."

Itachi didn't respond as he jumped back, dodging another swipe from another Susanoo. As he landed, he noticed that he was surrounded by all of the clones with their Susanoo present. If he had to guess, Itachi or Kabuto would say that there were about fifteen clones present. That was not good at all.

'I can't afford to lose Itachi,' thought Kabuto in frustration. 'But it seems that I won't be able to handle Madara with just him. He's going to need extra help….'

Madara raised an eyebrow as four more coffins rose from the ground around Itachi's still form.

'So he's going to bring more shinobi into this, is he?' thought Madara with a chuckle. 'Regardless, the outcome will still be the same.'

The coffins immediately disappeared right after the four revived shinobi had walked out from them.

"So it's you again," commented Madara as he immediately recognized one of them. To be precise, it was one that was entirely wrapped in bandages. "Tsuchikage…."

The Nidaime Tsuchikage, or Mu, looked up at Madara. "Uchiha Madara…..quite a surprise in seeing you again even after I'm already dead."

"The feeling is mutual," replied Madara.

"What's going on here?" asked a redhead next to Mu.

"It seems we've been revived," replied another one that had no eyebrows who was standing to the left of Mu. "It must be that damn Nidaime Hokage with his Edo Tensei. When I get my hands on him, I'll-"

"It's not the Nidaime who summoned you," interrupted Itachi who walked forward until he was standing in front of the four. Well, technically it was Kabuto who said it. "But that doesn't matter now. The reason you're even here is to defeat that man over there," he stated while pointing upwards to where Madara stood.

"I take no orders from anyone," retorted the tallest individual present who was also dark-skinned with a giant scar running down his chest. "Especially from a brat like you."

But Itachi didn't respond to him. It wasn't like he needed to. Moments later, the others present felt their bodies to start moving on their own.

'The Edo Tensei,' thought the redhead in slight anger as he felt his chakra begin to form his gold sand from the minerals that were present on the ground.

"Man, I really hate this jutsu," stated the one with no eyebrows.

The wood clones themselves simply stood there as Itachi activated his own Susanoo.

"The past Kages," muttered Madara before a chuckle escaped his lips as he gazed down at the revived shinobi. "Let's see if you can give me enough of a challenge in order to entertain me for a while."

"You still haven't changed," commented Mu.

Madara didn't bother to respond.

The wood clones' Susanoo all raised their swords upward, ready to strike down their opponents in front of them at any time.

The now identified Raikage activated his lightning armor and disappeared from sight only to reappear outside of the ring that the wood clones had made in order to trap the Kages and immediately took off towards the real Madara.

The Mizukage scoffed. "Showoff…."

The Kazekage simply crossed his arms in the exact manner as Madara was doing as golden sand erupted from the ground from behind him before shooting it towards the wood clones in front of him.

Mu was immediately behind the Kazekage, standing back to back with him with both of his hands in front of him.

**"Jinton: Genkai Hakuri!"**

Immediately four of the wood clones were surrounded in a giant cube with a sphere in the middle before they were all reduced to small particles along with their Susanoo.

The Mizukage smirked at this as he glanced behind him. "That's the mummy for you. His Jinton is still as strong as ever…."

The Mizukage then brought his hands to the ground with a grin on his face before he was surrounded in a cloud of dust.

The remaining wood clones sprang into action, their respective Susanoo attacking the Kages.

Itachi's Susanoo's shield blocked off all of the attacks that were sent his way. The Kazekage took a step back as he tried to hold off the attacks from the clones with his gold sand. Mu for his part merely took off flying in order to dodge the attacks and the Mizukage was no where to be seen.

The real Madara closed his eyes momentarily before snapping them wide open as the Raikage appeared behind him, ready to strike him down.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

The Raikage was pushed back a few feet but otherwise held his ground as he tried to push through the attack with his lightning armor still activated.

Madara raised an eyebrow in respect as he noticed this. "Your physical strength is outstanding, I'll give you that much," stated Madara as he turned around in order to face the Raikage as he continued to press with his gravity attack. "I'm afraid, though, that that won't be enough to defeat me."

The Raikage didn't respond. Instead, he disappeared from his spot only to reappear to Madara's right, intent on trying to attack him once more.

Seeing this, Madara grinned as he Susanoo sprung to life which completely deflected the punch from the Raikage.

"You've also got speed," muttered Madara before he noticed that his Susanoo was beginning to crack from the single punch. "As well as strength," he added before turning serious. "It seems that I really must not take you lightly, Raikage."

Immediately sensing danger, the Raikage jumped back in order to dodge being hit by the giant sword from Madara's Susanoo.

"It seems that this will be fun after all," said Madara with a small grin as his Susanoo disappeared before jumping off the tree and down below with the Raikage being right behind him.

**"Amaterasu!"**

The wood clone in front of Itachi simply fell to the ground as he began to be burned by the black flames.

Itachi's eyes widened partially as tendrils made out of wood began to come out of the ground all around him with them wrapping tightly around his body.

"This is it for you," said another wood clone from behind him.

The Itachi in front of him simply dispersed into crows the next moment making the Madara clone smirk. "Clever…."

The real Madara landed right next to him the next moment before they took positions with their backs facing each other. Itachi appeared in front of the clone, and the Raikage landed in front of the real Madara.

It seemed that this was not close to being over just yet.

* * *

><p>On the other side of the compound, Tsunade stood up on shaky legs as she focused entirely on the approaching Naruto.<p>

"So you're going to kill me now, are you?" asked Tsunade as she tried to heal her wounds on her body before giving up, knowing it to be useless. There was a better way, after all. Well, it wasn't _better_; but it was faster.

Naruto stopped walking, simply standing in front of the Godaime Hokage in silence before he shouldered his sword. "You know something ,Tsunade," began Naruto in a relax and calm manner which was the complete opposite of what he had been throughout the whole fight. Okay, it couldn't really be called a fight. Naruto had yet to take any damage at all. But that was not the point at the moment.

"I still don't see why you're still hung up on trying to save this village," he continued while shaking his head. "Essentially, this village betrayed your family as well. No, it did. Case and point. There is no denying that fact."

Tsunade smirked at him as blood began to come out of her mouth. "You still don't get it do you? It's everything that you once stood for."

"No," interrupted Naruto with an amused look on his face now appearing. "That wasn't the real me. I suppose you could call it a fake in a sense. That was just my incomplete version. The one that you see standing before you, that's the real me. The one that I've been trying to suppress for so many years. But you know what? I'm tired of doing that. This is my true nature. And nothing in the world is going to change that."

"Are you?" asked Tsunade before looking at the pile of ash that had once been Iruka. "Because I'm pretty sure that Iruka once saved you from becoming this. Are you certain that there is no one left that can change your mind at this point?"

Naruto grinned slightly at that while closing his eyes. He didn't fear the woman standing before him in the slightest. "You're right about that, I'll admit to that much. But that was just my naive self clinging to a false hope. An escape, if you will. It was because someone actually believed in me and saw me as for who I am, not just my jinchuriki side. Because of this, I thought that I could make the others believe that as well. But….I've come to realize that that was just a stupid dream. The whole concept of trying to prove myself….it's just idiotic to me now."

"That's not what you once believed in," retorted Tsunade as she fell to her knees, no longer being able to stand.

Naruto opened his rinnegan activated eyes as he looked at Tsunade. "I told you that that was just my naive self clinging to a false hope. I've come to know of the true nature of this village. After everything that I know now….do you really expect for me to actually try to fight for this place!?" Naruto nearly screamed the last part out.

"You're no better…." responded Tsunade as she looked straight at him.

"I never said that I was," retorted Naruto. "Call me what you want. I really don't care at this point. But talking to you is pointless. You've obviously chosen your side."

"This is my grandfather's jewel," stated Tsunade as she stood up, her diamond on her forehead activating as it healed all of her wounds instantaneously. "And I will protect it no matter what!"

Naruto chuckled in obvious amusement when he heard this. "Your grandfather's jewel, eh?" he said as a dark grin appeared on his face. "Another thing that you're mistaken in. He longer believed in this village when we fought."

Tsunade's eyes widened at this. "You….that's not possible!"

Naruto shrugged. "Believe me if you want. Or don't. It really doesn't make a difference to me. But he told me so himself. I really can't say I defeated him either. He allowed for me to kill him again in his own free will. If there was a time when this village was actually a sign of peace, it was in his time. Now? It's nothing more than a lie."

Tsunade growled before she rushed at Naruto in obvious anger. Seeing this, Naruto simply grinned before bringing his Seikatsugakari in front of him. He was greatly surprised, however, as Tsunade's punch succeeded in pushing him back a few feet.

'Her strength has increased,' thought Naruto as he came to a halt. 'It must be because of that diamond on her forehead.'

Tsunade could only frown as she noticed that Naruto's sword had not been broken in half by her punch. 'Just what is that thing made out of, anyway?'

Naruto chuckled. "So….you're still going to be stubborn, are you? Even when you know that it is hopeless."

Tsunade scowled. "I've already told you. I'm going to protect this village. You may be right. Some of the past actions from Konoha have not been just. But that doesn't give you the right to do what you're doing."

"And that is where you are wrong," retorted Naruto with narrowed eyes. "It gives me the right. And even if that weren't the case, I'm doing this for my own satisfaction as well. Is it right or wrong? I don't give a shit. 'Right' or 'wrong' are just labels, a matter of perspective. But for the third time, this is just for bringing joy to my own little dark heart!"

The markings that formed a third eye at the center of Naruto's forehead glowed for a moment as well as the streaks on Naruto's sword.

Naruto chuckled as his face turned back into its twisted grin. "Now, are we done with our little chat? Because I really need to get going with the destruction of this place."

The next moment, Naruto found himself covered completely in oil, making Naruto become confused for the moment.

"What the-"

**"Fire Style: Gamayu Endan!"**

Naruto soon food himself completely covered in flames thanks to Jiraiya who was standing a good distance behind him.

**"That should teach him!"** stated Shima with a scowl on her face.

Before they could celebrate any further, chuckling could be heard from within the flames that had supposedly 'killed' Naruto.

"Getting me from my blind spot, eh, sensei? Now how is that honorable?" said Naruto as the repelled the flames as well as the oil along with it with his rinnegan.

"It's not meant to be honorable," retorted Jiraiya.

Naruto chuckled as he turned to face the toad Sennin. "You got me there. Not that it matters anyway…."

"Don't forget about me, brat!" screamed Tsunade as she appeared behind the amused Naruto, swinging her fist towards the said silver haired jinchuriki.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

Tsunade was blown back yet again.

'I really love that technique!' thought Naruto before he glanced at the down Tsunade. "Your strength is too much of a hassle to deal with for me to get hit. So I'm not going to let you come anywhere near my face. Understood?"

Using the supposed opening, Jiraiya immediately got on all fours again.

**"Senpo: Kebari Senbon!"**

Without turning to face the incoming hair needles, Naruto brought his freed hand forward, completely repelling the attack.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's impolite to interrupt someone when they're talking?" said Naruto as he turned to look at Jiraiya with a dark grin. "But if that's how you want to play, then bring it on!"

Jiraiya didn't respond as he rushed at Naruto, hoping to overpower him with the increased strength that his sage mode provided him with.

When he was close enough, Jiraiya jumped and sent a powerful axe kick down towards the person who had once been his student.

What he wasn't expecting, though, was for Naruto to simply bring his left arm forward in order to block the kick and succeeding in doing so as well.

'But that's not possible!' thought Jiraiya in momentary shock. Naruto's arm should have been broken in half and become completely useless afterwards!

Using Jiraiya's shock to his advantage, Naruto brought his sword upwards towards the white haired man. Seeing this, Jiraiya made to dodge only to see Naruto quickly grab a hold of both of his feet with his other hand.

Jiraiya screamed in pain as Naruto cut straight through both of his legs, him falling to the ground as a result. Not only that, but he felt himself become weaker once again.

**"Jiraiya-chan!"** screamed Fukasaku in worry from his spot on Jiraiya's shoulder.

'He absorb more of my soul,' thought Jiraiya in pain. 'It's just like with the sword from Hoshigaki Kisame…except that instead of chakra, Naruto's sword consumes souls!'

"I've played around with you long enough," stated Naruto as his face lost all of its playfulness. "Seeing as this is the best that I'm going to get from you, there really is no point on continuing with this."

Hearing this, Shima growled before she decided that she had enough. She inhaled deeply before shooting out a continuous amount of a fire stream. Seeing this, both Jiraiya and Fukasaku decided to add their two cents in there.

**"Senpo: Goemon!"**

Fukasaku shot out a strong wind stream while the downed Jiraiya shout out oil from his mouth. The collaboration technique hit Naruto dead on, causing for a major explosion to occur only for it to die down a second later.

"So you're still trying," said Naruto as his rinnegan absorbed the attack. "I respect that, but any jutsu is meaninglessly before these eyes."

Naruto was then right above Jiraiya, the Seikatsugakari raised upward before he brought it down, impaling Jiraiya straight where his heart should be.

Both Fukasaku and Shima could only watch this in shock before they both disappeared in a puff of smoke. Jiraiya had been the one to summoned them here, after all.

"This is the end," stated Naruto with no remorse.

Jiraiya gasped in pain as he felt all of his energy being drained by the Seikatsugakari as well as feeling his body beginning to turn into ash.

'I wonder,' thought Jiraiya as he looked at Naruto's expressionless face, 'if I had only trained Naruto properly those three years ago, if had actually acted like his godfather…..would this fate have been avoided? Was that the choice that decided all of this? My carelessness….I wonder…..'

In the next moment, Jiraiya's body was completely turned into ash as well as the one that had been used as the sacrifice for being able to have summoned the dead shinobi.

**"So that was the end of Jiraiya…."** muttered Kurama.

But Naruto didn't pay him any mind at the moment. Instead, he turned his attention to the still down Tsunade who was looking at him with pure anger and hatred. If looks could kill, Naruto would be nothing more than a pile of ash just like Jiraiya was.

"That regeneration jutsu of yours is taking quite a toll on your body, isn't it?" said Naruto as he shouldered his sword yet again.

But Tsunade didn't respond to him any longer. This was the last straw. He had just killed Jiraiya….again! There just wasn't any point in talking any longer.

**"Are you sure that you want to kill her?"** asked Kurama. **"After all, Mito wants to take care of her personally…."**

'You're right about that,' replied Naruto before facing towards the burning village. 'Something tells me that they're going to need back up….'

**"I can sense the chakra from Matatabi as well as from Gyuki meaning that both Yugito and Bee are here now. Add to the fact that Fu is also here. That makes three bijuu present in the village, so-"**

'That doesn't mean that they're invincible,' countered Naruto. 'I'd rather not take any chances.'

Kurama simply shrugged. **"Your choice."**

"Don't ignore me!" screamed Tsunade as she finally stood up before she fell to her knees yet again as she coughed up blood.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You're in no condition to do anything right now, Tsunade. Besides, it's not my job to take care of you. Someone else has already called the right to do that."

"Who are you-" began to ask Tsunade before it hit her. 'Grandmother,' she thought as an image of Mito appeared in her mind.

"It's been fun," said Naruto before he placed the Seikatsugakari on his back. "But that fun now has to come to an end. I doubt that we'll see each other again. But in the event that we do, well….I don't know. I guess we'll just see what will happen then."

With that, Naruto disappeared in a dark flash.

Seeing this, Tsunade hit the ground next to her with as much force as possible as she could muster. The diamond on her forehead also returned to its normal state.

She needed to recover.

* * *

><p>Sakura could not believe what she was seeing, or rather <em>who<em> she was seeing. Right in front of her was Sasuke of all people! But what was he doing here? And also, why was he wearing the uniform of the Akatsuki for that matter?

"J-just what-"

"Don't ask, monkey," interrupted Fu with a sigh. "All you need to know is that Sasuke is also on Naruto's side."

Sakura's eyes widened as much as possible at this new information before she turned to look at Sasuke for confirmation.

But Sasuke didn't even bother to even look at her. He was currently looking to where the Uchiha compound was supposed to be located at.

Seeing this, Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. "Oi, Sasuke. What are you looking at?"

Sasuke merely began to walk towards where his home had once been before he answered Suigetsu with, "Let's go. There's something that I need to see."

Karin was immediately right behind him. Suigetsu grumbled for a moment before he too started to follow behind the Uchiha.

"W-wait, Sasuke-kun!" exclaimed Sakura as she tried to move her upper body but found that she still couldn't. It just hurt too much. Not to mention the fact that the circulation of her chakra was still messed up thanks to Hinata.

Sasuke stop dead on his tracks and glanced at the down Sakura. "You….just what is it that you want now?"

"How could you be on Naruto's side!?" asked Sakura with wide eyes. "Why would you turn against the village!"

Sasuke scoffed at the question. "You're still the same immature girl, Sakura. Me and Naruto…..we've both grown up. That is all. You're simply still living in your own fantasy world where you think that being a shinobi is just fun and games. Well, it isn't. Reality is much harsher than that. But you couldn't possibly understand this. You've had a family and friends your whole life, always being protected. Sometimes I see that as a curse. Because of what I have experienced, I have managed to grow up. The same thing applies to Naruto. People like you who take things for granted….they make me sick."

Tears began to form in Sakura's eyes as she listened to every word that Sasuke said. "Y-you can't-"

"I've already told you this," interrupted Sasuke as he turned his head away from her, "but you're annoying. You're not even worth killing."

With that, Sasuke resumed with his walk towards the Uchiha compound, both Suigetsu and Karin behind him.

Yugito simply sighed as Sakura began to cry. 'Fangirls,' she thought with an internal frown before she turned to look at Fu. "What now?"

"We need to link up with Neji," answered Fu before she shrugged. "Well, I was suppose to, but…."

Bee landed right beside Fu. "Who's Neji?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"You'll see soon enough," replied Fu before she began to walk towards the crying Sakura. "But first…."

Yugito for her part looked down to see the unconscious Shikamaru on the ground who groaned which indicated that he was close to regaining consciousness.

'Not very honorable,' thought Yugito as her nails began to grow, 'but why should I care? Shinobi aren't meant to be honorable.'

With that thought in mind, Yugito sliced Shikamaru's head off with her nails that were coated with Matatabi's chakra. Shikamaru was dead at that moment.

Fu stopped right in front of the still crying Sakura, looking down at her will a small amount of pity in her orange eyes. "So this is it, eh, monkey?"

Sakura didn't bother to respond to her. And why should she? There was nothing that she had to say to her now.

Without a word, Fu shot her scales from her arm from her green armor all over Sakura's body making the said pink medic cry out in pain for a moment before she fell silent.

Haruno Sakura was dead within seconds.

"What about her?" asked Yugito while pointing at the body of Ino who groaned slightly in intense pain.

"Leave her," answered Fu as she began to walk away. "She's already dead. There's nothing that anyone can do to save her at this point."

Before Yugito could reply, a horde of Suna shinobi appeared all around them from the rooftops.

"We have company, yo!" said Bee as he pointed all around him, stating the obvious.

Temari landed in front of Fu with many other Suna shinobi behind her, looking at the bodies of Sakura, Shikamaru, and Ino. 'So we're too late,' thought Temari with a frown.

Fu could only sigh in annoyance. "Seriously, just what is it with all of the interruptions!? I just want to finish my mission. Is that too freaking hard!"

Yugito chuckled before she stepped forward, looking straight at Temari. "The blonde one is mine. I can tell that she's not an ordinary kunoichi."

Fu simply rolled her eyes. "Suit yourself. But what about the rest of them?" she said, while pointing at the gathered Suna shinobi.

"I got this, yo!" was the statement that came from behind both Fu and Yugito.

The next moment, many of the present shinobi from Suna wet their pants as Bee transformed himself into his bijuu mode, completely becoming the Hachibi.

Yugito chuckled. "You can have all of them but save the blonde one for me. You got that, Bee!?"

**"As you command, kitty!"** replied Bee with a chuckle in his current state.

"Have fun then," said Fu before she took off flying via her wings that were on her back thanks to the armor that she wore.

"Shall we have some fun, Suna kunoichi?" said Yugito with a feral grin on her face as the Hachibi stood behind her.

Temari merely readied her fan as she prepared herself for what would probably be the hardest battler in her life.

* * *

><p>Up in the Hokage Mountain, Naruto saw as the arrived force from Suna began to turn the tide of the battle. Most members from the Hyuuga clan had been wiped out and the White Zetsus themselves weren't strong enough to handle this themselves.<p>

**"This doesn't look good,"** commented Kurama with a frown. **"And who knows when that Uchiha woman will arrive…."**

Naruto was currently sitting down on the stone head of the Shodai, the Seikatsugakari laying down on Naruto's right shoulder with the tip of the blade touching the ground.

Naruto grinned as he watched all of this as well as the transformation by Bee. 'Yeah, it doesn't look all right. But you're also forgetting that I had already suspected that Gaara would get involved this early. No doubt that he already had his army at the border if not closer before the Kage Summit took place.'

It was then that Zetsu appeared on the ground beside him.

**"Obito is dead,"** stated Black Zetsu.

"Is that so?" said Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "No doubt that he went out on his terms….."

"And what makes you say that?" asked White Zetsu.

Naruto chuckled. "I don't know. Call it a simple hunch, if you will.'

**"I agree with you on that,"** replied Black Zetsu.

**"So, that Uchiha is dead, is he?"** said Kurama with a grin on his face. **"Now that brings a smile to my face!"**

Naruto mentally shook his head. 'I've got to disagree with you on that, my friend. Obito was cool as far as I'm concerned. And not like the rest of the Uchiha clan…."

**"Well, he wasn't **_**that**_** bad,"** relented Kurama. Naruto realized that that was the best that he would get out of the bijuu in this matter.

**"What will you do now with this new problem?"** asked Black Zetsu.

Before Naruto could respond, one Hyuuga Neji appeared behind with a badly injured Shizune on his back.

Naruto glanced at him for a moment. "It seems that you were having fun," he said with a small grin.

Neji scowled as he threw the Shizune's body on the ground behind him. "Don't get me started. Chasing her was a bitch. I'm just glad that it's over with."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Speaking of which, why is she even _alive_?"

Neji shrugged. "I thought that you might have some use for her."

Naruto waved his hands in dismissal at that as he turned to face the village again. "Well, I don't. She's useless to me."

"Oh…." Realizing his mistake, Neji quickly kicked Shizune's body off the Hokage Mountain and down towards the ground below.

Nobody present commented on this.

"Back to your question," said Naruto while glancing at Black Zetsu for the moment. "I'm not going to do shit just yet."

Neji raised an eyebrow when he heard that. "And why is that?"

Naruto shrugged. "It would be too early for that. I want to enjoy this a bit more. But I do have something to kick things back in our favor," he added with a dark smirk.

**"And that would be?"** asked Black Zetsu.

Naruto merely bit his thumb of his right hand in order to draw blood.

Realization hit both Black and White Zetsu as they saw this. Neji for his part looked on in confusion. As far as he was concerned, Naruto didn't have any other summoning contract other than with the toads.

**"Kuchiyose!"**

Several puffs of smoke appeared behind Naruto.

**"Uzumaki….you really have random times for summoning me, don't you?"** came from the puff of smoke directly behind him. A second later, it revealed a familiar red looking dragon.

Naruto chuckled. "I apologize for that, Moukaryuu. But I have something that will make it up as well as to your pals…."

The other clouds of smoke revealed similar looking dragons except with different colors. One was yellow, another one was bright blue with the other being a slightly darker blue, and finally there was a white dragon.

Naruto pointed down at the village below him. "See this village? Go crazy. Except for that giant octopus, a blonde kunoichi from Kumo, another mint haired kunoichi as well as for a third kunoichi with purple hair with a trench coat, you can kill anyone that you see down there."

Moukaryuu simply nodded before he took off along with the rest of the dragons down to the village below.

"I didn't know that you had another summoning contract," said Neji with a surprise look. "And that of the dragons as well…."

Naruto simply shrugged. "None of you ever asked. Speaking of which, where is Anko right now?"

Neji really didn't know the answer to that. Before he could respond, however, a tendril of sand was shot behind him and sent towards him.

Naruto was immediately behind him, sword in hand and with his left hand raised forward.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

The sand was immediately repelled.

Neji could only sigh as he closed his eyes for a moment. "I guess that I owe you one."

"Don't mention it," replied Naruto as he looked up at the air to see the floating Gaara via his sand.

Naruto smirked up at him. "So it's you, Gaara…."

"Naruto," was all that Gaara said as he stood on his sand with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Naruto looked back on Neji. "Even though it's not necessary, how about a team up?"

Neji smirked as he walked forward until he was right beside Naruto, both of them turning their attention back to Gaara. "It will be my pleasure…."

"This is going to be good," said White Zetsu with a massive grin on his face as he watched all of this.

Black Zetsu had to agree with his counterpart.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Another chapter. Wow, it's almost becoming a habit for me now. Nothing more to say about that than that.**

**There is one thing that I have to address though. It was brought to my attention that I was bashing Hinata…..and my answer to that is an absolute N-O. This is not a 'Hinata bashing' fic. The only character that I have been close to bashing has to be Minato, and that was early on. But even I have to admit to that.**

**But seriously? Just because I didn't let her live? I've killed many other characters already! So what? Does that mean that I'm bashing them? Fuck no! It's just how I planned for this story to go as well as trying to stick to how the characters act in canon. Hinata is in love with Naruto in the same way that Sakura is with Sasuke who asked him to take her with him when he was going to Orochimaru….that's all that I need to say. Naruto just doesn't care about her in the slightest. It's that simple. And it's certainly not bashing. That's the last thing that I'm trying to do. I've seen many fics go down the drain because of that. Let me make it clear that bashing is none of my intentions. And if you don't like it? Then just stop reading the story and leave. It's that simple.**

**Also, if you found Naruto's reason for forgiving Kushina weak, it's perfectly understandable. I guess I should have explained this better, but even Naruto himself doesn't know why he forgave her. And if you don't believe in what you're saying, how can you make others believe in it? Oh, and more explanation of the Seikatsugakari's power will be given later.  
><strong>

**I suppose that that's all that I have to say for this time. Please tell me what you thought in a review. It's highly welcomed.**

**Till next time.**


	55. New Comrades

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and I don't think that I ever will. So sad...  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 54:<br>New Comrades**

Now one would think that Naruto would want to just appear anywhere in the village and start killing anyone from Konoha, be they a civilian or shinobi, and to just simply destroy the village again like he had already done once. To just get everything over with already.

Well, that person would be dead wrong.

Naruto had been impatient before he had acquired the Seikatsugakari, that much was true. And he still kind of was. But there were a few things that he needed to do before he could truly just sit back and watch the fireworks go off, if you will. There were two things in fact.

And those two things would be Kabuto and his other self. They were the only true major threats and annoyances that still stood in Naruto's way as far as he was concerned. Until they were both dead, he couldn't truly enjoy the beauty of what was currently happening. Well, what he thought of as 'beauty' in his eyes at any rate. The people from Konoha would totally disagree with him on that regard. But who cares about that?

Although he had to admit that he wasn't too annoyed about what was currently happening as he looked up at the still floating Gaara. Now as to why that was, he didn't really know. If it were anyone else, he probably would have been annoyed. Interesting….

Putting those thoughts aside, Naruto glanced behind him to see the grinning White Zetsu with the indifferent looking Black Zetsu at his side.

"You two, I have a job for you," began Naruto, completely ignoring Gaara for the moment. Said redhead simply stood there calmly with his arms still crossed.

Neji, who stood next to Naruto, had his attention completely on Gaara for the moment, however. He had already been caught off guard once, and there was no way in hell that he was going to let that happen again.

**"And that is?"** asked Black Zetsu.

"I need for you to find Kabuto for me," answered Naruto as he turned to look at Gaara again. "It's time for me to settle the score with that bastard."

**'So that's why he said that it was too early,'** realized Black Zetsu.

"Hai, hai," replied White Zetsu with his grin before they started to sink to the ground.

Before they completely disappeared, however, Black Zetsu had to ask something, **"What makes you so certain that he's here right now? He could be anywhere…."**

"Maybe," replied Naruto with a small shrug, "but it doesn't hurt to look. And this way, you have something to do instead of just sitting here doing nothing."

Black Zetsu didn't respond while White Zetsu chuckled before they completely sunk into the ground, intent on finding the said target.

"You know," began Naruto as he looked at the calm looking Gaara, "I'm surprised that you still haven't attacked me yet. I was kind of vulnerable right a few moments ago."

"That would be pointless," replied the said redhead while glancing at Neji. "I'm sure that he would have just simply blocked my attacks. Not to mention the fact that you would probably know that they were heading your way," he finished, turning to look at Naruto again. "Besides, there is something that you and I need to discuss."

Naruto immediately shook his head at hearing that, bringing his sword up to his right shoulder. "I'm not talking with anyone anymore. It doesn't get us anywhere. I'll just be wasting my time as well as yours. I'm here, you're there. Can't we all just accept that and move on with our lives? Things would be so much simpler that way."

But Gaara didn't look amused in the slightest. "The 'why' and 'how' we got into these positions are an important factor, and something that I'm still trying to understand at the moment."

Naruto could only sigh at this. "You….you just have to make things complicated, don't you? Well, just what do you want to understand exactly? My reasons for doing what I'm doing should be obvious to you. And as for the how….well, that would take to much time to explain," he finished with another small shrug.

Neji glanced at Naruto with a raised eyebrow in confusion. "I thought you said that you weren't going to talk anymore?"

Naruto looked at Neji with a blank look. "How exactly is this my fault! It's him over there with all of the damn questions!"

**"Rendan: Suna Shigure!"**

A barrage of sand bullets were immediately shot by Gaara which headed straight towards the bickering duo until Naruto raised his freed hand, bringing it forward and repelling the barrage completely.

"Son of a bitch," muttered Naruto as he turned to look at Gaara. "And here I thought that you were waiting for the moment…."

"I can ask you everything that I want answered once I capture you," retorted Gaara as he descended on the ground, more sand making its way of the sand gourd on his back.

"Cheating bastard," muttered Naruto in return before smirking. "Well, that just makes all of this easier then. It would have been boring if you just kept asking me questions without attacking me first. I would have just killed you, and then I wouldn't have been able to see what you're capable of now."

Neji had a slight sweatdrop as he heard this. "You….are you a masochist now or something?"

Naruto actually thought about the question for a moment before he shrugged. "Maybe….I don't know. But would that really be a bad thing?"

Neji didn't even bother to acknowledge the question. If he did, he would start to fear for his own mental stability.

"All right then," said Naruto as he focused back on Gaara. "Let's do this then."

'He's not taking me seriously,' thought Gaara in realization as he looked at the grin that began to form on Naruto's face. 'He's all carefree like a person without a care in the world…'

Naruto then raised an eyebrow. "Well? Aren't you going to attack us or something?"

Gaara didn't respond. Instead, he shot a wave of sand towards both Naruto and Neji at a fast rate, making the said duo jump out of the way. Well, Naruto didn't have to but still did.

Neji activated his byakugan as the wave of sand split in two, one heading towards Naruto and the other towards him. Seeing this, Neji prepared himself.

**"Hakkesho Kaiten!"**

The technique defended Neji from the sand which was dispersed to different locations in the air.

Naruto for his part simply used the rinnegan to repel the sand that was sent his way. Really, he was beginning to think that the Shinra Tensei really was the best jutsu that he had in his arsenal.

Neji landed on the ground, instantly dashing towards the still unmoving Gaara that still had his arms crossed. Seeing Neji heading towards him, Gaara immediately shot more of his sand towards him.

Neji frowned briefly before he brought his arm forward.

**"Hakke Kusho!"**

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

The palm trust was soon engulfed by the fireball that was sent by Naruto who was standing a few feet away next to Neji. Because of the palm trust, the fireball became even more powerful.

Seeing this, Gaara brought his sand in front of him in a protective wall, intent on repelling the extra powered fireball.

A few moments later, the fireball impacted with the sand wall. Gaara pushed more chakra into his defensive move, trying to repel the fireball.

"You're wide open, you know."

Hearing this coming from behind him made Gaara's eyes widen in surprise. He didn't have the time to defend himself, however, as he felt a strong punch impact with his left cheek, sending him back towards the fireball. At the last moment, Gaara brought all of his sand around him in order to not get burned alive by the attack.

Naruto, having been the one to have punched Gaara, simply watched all of this with his rinnegan eyes. Neji was still on the same position, byakugan activated.

"Your sand armor, eh?" muttered Naruto once the fireball had died off, revealing an unharmed and slightly panting Gaara with his sand all around him. The only 'injury' that could be seen was the cracks on the cheek that Naruto had punched, bits of it falling to the ground and revealing it just to be sand.

Gaara looked behind for a moment to look at Neji before turning back to look at Naruto. 'There is no way that I'll be able to fight them both at the same time….'

Naruto's markings from before appeared all over his face, the third eye in his forehead glowing. "Now don't tell me that that's all that you've got, Gaara," commented Naruto with a serious look before he chuckled. "Fuck it. No point in being serious right now."

'What's wrong with him?' thought Gaara before he brought his sand in front of him in instinct as Naruto rushed at him, swinging his sword in order to cut down the redhead Kazekage. Instead, all he hit was the sand.

**"Hakke Hasangeki!"**

Gaara grunted in pain as he flew forward from the attack from Neji who was standing behind with his arm extended.

Seeing this, Naruto willed for the Seikatsugakari to emit its crimson energy which immediately cut right through Gaara's sand just in time for the said redhead to be flying towards him.

Using this opportunity, Naruto brought his sword forward, cutting right through Gaara's chest only for Gaara to disperse into sand.

'Switched with a sand clone at the last second, did he?' realized Naruto with a grin before jumping upward. The reason for this being as massive tendrils of sand erupting from the ground which was covered in sand.

Looking up, Naruto saw the real Gaara floating in his sand again with his arms crossed.

'All right, if that's how you want to play,' thought Naruto as he brought his freed hand forward.

**"Bansho Tenin!"**

'What!' thought Gaara as he felt himself being pulled forward.

Neji was up in the air next to Naruto the next moment as he sent more of his 'vacuum palm' attacks toward the approaching Gaara.

Gaara brought more sand in front of him in order to block against Neji's attacks. He also sent a barrage of sand bullets towards both Naruto and Neji, using the fact that Naruto was pulling him forward to his advantage.

Seeing this, the Seikatsugakari released more of its crimson energy which reflected all of the sand bullets.

"This is it, Gaara!" stated Naruto as for a moment his crazed grin returned.

Seeing no other alternative, Gaara pushed all of his chakra into his sand armor as Naruto slashed right through his chest like he had done with the sand clone.

Gaara grunted in pain as he was flown to the ground below from the attack.

Both Naruto and Neji landed on the ground calmly before they turned to look at the now kneeled Gaara.

'That damn sand armor of his,' thought Naruto in slight frustration before he sighed. "As much as I want to continue playing with you, there is something more important that I have to take care of right now," he said out loud.

Neji for his part merely glanced at Naruto for a moment before turning his attention back to Gaara.

Gaara was now panting more heavily than before. His sand armor used up a lot of his chakra, after all.

"We're not through here," replied Gaara as he took a deep breath in before standing back up. "I will defeat you."

Naruto could only shake his head in amusement at that as he placed his Seikatsugakari on his back. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're nowhere near my level to be saying that, Gaara. But I'm through with the discussions. Let's get this over with already."

Gaara was silent before taking a step back without knowing as Naruto's Susanoo erupted into life around the said silver haired individual.

Neji took several steps to the side in order to not get caught in the crossfire.

'Is this….the power of darkness?' thought Gaara.

Naruto chuckled before placing his right hand on his face in order to hide what his face was showing at the moment. And that was a twisted and dark grin.

* * *

><p>On the far side of what was once the Uchiha compound, another conflict was currently taking place. A conflict that one Uchiha Madara was beginning to get bored of as illustrated by the slight annoyance that his face showed as he landed on the ground from having jumped in order to dodge the gold sand sent by the revived Kazekage.<p>

Both Mu and the Raikage stood next to the Kazekage with Itachi being a good distance away behind them, simply observing the fight for the moment. Well, Kabuto was at least.

As for the Mizukage….well Madara didn't know where he was right now, but he didn't really much care either. It had been fun in the beginning, fighting Kage level shinobi. Now it was just annoying for the revived Uchiha.

'I might as well end this now,' thought Madara. 'Besides, I need to watch how Naruto and the others bring down this village. Heh, now there is something that I will not miss.'

"This is getting annoying," commented Mu with a sigh. "How long is this going to last?"

"Well, it seems that we can't do anything about it," replied the Kazekage. "We're just simply puppets right now."

The Raikage, although not liking that fact, nodded his head in agreement as to what the Kazekage had just stated.

"Enough chatting," cut in Itachi/Kabuto from behind them. "Enough time has already been wasted here."

The other Kages simply grunted in annoyance but didn't respond.

It was at this time that three individuals suddenly appeared beside Madara, all looking intently at the Kage in front of them.

Madara chuckled slightly as he closed his eyes for a moment. "So it's you, Uchiha Sasuke….."

Sasuke glanced at Madara for a moment before focusing back on the three revived shinobi in front of him. "Just who are you?"

"Uchiha Madara," answered Madara calmly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Sasuke was silent for a moment before simply nodding. "I see…." If he was shock from hearing that, he did a very good job at hiding it.

'His chakra is off the charts!' thought Karin with a slight gulp as she glanced at the calm if not slightly annoyed Madara.

And Suigetsu…well he was just looking plain bored.

It was then that Sasuke noticed Itachi in the back, making his eyes widen in surprise. But before he could dwell on this, the Raikage was on the move.

He rushed at them with his lightning armor still activated at an incredible speed.

Seeing this, Madara stepped forward and activated his own Susanoo which the Raikage immediately attacked again. But already being aware of the Raikage's strength, Madara immediately repelled the said shinobi with his rinnegan. But just like before, the Raikage started to push forward despite the force that tried to push him back.

So busy in doing this that he didn't notice the Amaterasu sword from Sasuke's Susanoo descending down upon him since he was also aware of the swords from Madara's own Susanoo.

The Raikage gritted his teeth in pain as he felt his entire left half of his body being consumed in the black flames as he was pushed back by Madara's Shinra Tensei.

'This hurts like a bitch,' thought the Raikage as he landed on the ground on his back in front of the Kazekage and Mu.

Seeing this through Itachi, Kabuto could only scowl. Now that Sasuke was here, this was not going to be as easy as before. Hell, it wasn't easy to begin with!

"All right, enough with the games already," said Madara as he walked forward a couple of steps before stopping. "It's been fun, but I'm afraid that the fun has to end now."

Wordlessly, the Kazekage shot his gold straight at Madara only for it to be deflected by Madara's Susanoo.

In the next moment, Kabuto felt his control over Itachi dwindle for just a moment, making the said individual shock beyond belief. After all, Itachi was the only that he was controlling directly. His control could not be broken through. Or so he thought at least.

'Still fighting, are you Itachi?' thought Kabuto as he felt his control return. 'But unfortunately, it's going to take more than just willpower to escape my control.'

What Kabuto didn't know was that in that brief moment of freedom, Itachi had summoned something which would be the cause of Kabuto's downfall.

Madara stopped what he was going to do as he felt a change in the atmosphere before gazing at Itachi to see many crows appearing all around the said controlled Uchiha. 'What is he up to?'

Sasuke had also noticed this and was looking at his revived in brother in confusion.

Both the Kazekage and Mu just stood there, feeling the orders of attacking the shinobi in front of them disappear for the moment.

One of the crows suddenly flew in front of Itachi, and it was then that Kabuto lost complete control of the said Uchiha.

"Oi, what the hell is going on with your brother?" asked Suigetsu who was standing next to Sasuke.

But Sasuke didn't respond to him. He was too busy trying to figure out what his brother was trying to do. Or if it even was his brother doing this.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

Mu took the skies once more while the Kazekage brought his gold sand around him in order to shield him from the fire attack that was fired from none other than Itachi.

And the Raikage….he just continued to lay on the ground while his body continued to be burned.

Madara raised an eyebrow in complete surprise at the sight in front of him as well as for Itachi appearing next to him on his right with one of the crows on his shoulder.

Realization then hit Madara causing for him to chuckle in respect towards his fellow Uchiha member. "You weren't going to go down without a fight, were you?"

"You know me too well," replied Itachi in a stoic manner.

Sasuke could only look at him in shock. "Just what did you-"

"He broke free of Kabuto's control with genjutsu," interrupted Madara, already knowing what Sasuke was going to ask.

'A genjutsu?' wondered Sasuke. 'But how could genjutsu-'

"You used Shisui's eye, didn't you?" asked Madara but said it more like a statement.

Itachi simply nodded. "It was tricky. I wasn't able to change the order that I placed on it, though….."

'Because you were hoping to one day use it against Sasuke,' thought Madara with as sigh before turning his attention back to the Kage. "It doesn't matter now. But I suppose that it will be up to you to take care of Kabuto. I have to take care of these four still as well as for something else." Well the 'something else' was just to sit back and watch the village burn but, they didn't need to know that.

Itachi simply nodded as he turned around and began to walk away with Sasuke and his team in tow.

"Just how did you-"

"I gave myself the order that I must protect the village at all costs," interrupted Itachi already knowing what Sasuke was going to say. "It was done by placing a genjutsu upon my self using Shisui's mangekyo. His genjutsu is superior even to my own." 'Although it also has its own drawbacks,' he finished in his mind.

"But aren't we threatening the village as well?" asked Sasuke, expecting to fight his brother once more.

Itachi glanced at him before he chuckled. "That you are. But so is Kabuto. And I never did specify whom I would go against first though."

'This way, the Edo Tensei will be undone making Itachi disappear as well. But he will have had provided support to both us and Konoha at the same time this way…..' realized Sasuke. 'It's….fucking brilliant!'

"Now," Itachi stopped before looking at Karin, "if you would please offer us with some assistance."

Karin nodded before concentrating on finding her target.

Suigetsu merely grumbled. 'What the hell am I? Chopped liver?'

Mu landed once more and stood next to the Kazekage, now facing the alone Madara.

"Seeing as this is probably the last time that we'll see each other, let me thank you for everything that you have done, Kabuto," said Madara with a chuckle. "You have done exactly what I expected from you."

Even through his pissed off state at the moment, Kabuto heard this through both Mu and the Kazekage as well as from the hidden Mizukage, making him confused. But just what did Madara mean by that?

"But now, let me thank you for that," continued Madara as his Susanoo began to change, "by showing you the Susanoo's true form!"

Both Mu's and the Kazekage's eyes widened as they gazed at the now gigantic and changed form of Madara's Susanoo. It now looked like a some sort of samurai.

The Susanoo then drew its sword before swinging it down towards the direction of the revived Kages which sent them flying backwards as well as make the actual ground beneath them crack. This also revealed the Mizukage who had been hiding within his summoning, a giant clam. Said clam disappeared in a puff of smoke having been cut in half from the attack.

"What the fuck!" screamed the Mizukage as parts of his body were blown off as well. "Just what the hell is this guy!"

None of the rest of the Kages had an answer to that question.

"I'm not through yet," stated Madara as its Susanoo prepared to swing its sword again.

It was at this time that the revived Kages knew that they had no chance of winning.

* * *

><p>Gaara could only look at the dark form of Naruto's Susanoo, not believing that the Naruto that he knew had become this.<p>

**"Ankoku no Kensurasshu!"**

Both of the swords from Naruto's Susanoo swung forward, sending a wave of dark energy towards Gaara who brought his sand forward again.

Gaara then grunted in pain as he felt some of the dark energy actually cut through his sand defense as well as his sand armor, cutting right through his real skin.

Holding his left shoulder in pain, Gaara saw more of the crimson energy beginning to flare within Naruto's Susanoo.

It was at the last second that Gaara sensed Neji's presence from behind him. So busy in focusing in Naruto that he had completely forgotten about the Hyuuga!

**"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!"**

Neji brought both of his opened palms forward, sending violent blows to where Gaara's chakra points were suppose to be located in.

Using his sand as support, Gaara managed to stop himself from being pushed back too far but felt extreme pain in his stomach area. He had managed to block off against most of the blows by protecting his chakra points with his sand, but not all of them it would seem.

'I guess that I shouldn't be too surprised by that,' thought Neji as he immediately jumped back out of range from Gaara's sand into one of the tree branches from one of the trees that stood behind the Hokage Mountain.

"Thanks for that, Neji."

Gaara's eyes widened as he felt something pierce him. Looking down, he saw one of the swords from Naruto's Susanoo except that the sword was now coated with the crimson energy as well as with the crimson energy running through it. The Susanoo had simply thrown it at him.

Gaara felt the control of his sand leave him as he collapsed on the ground on his back. The sword had been powerful enough to cut straight through his sand armor it would seem.

The dark sword disappeared the next moment as Naruto appeared in front of Gaara, the red markings on his face still present. Neji landed beside him the next moment.

"How's that for a team up," commented Neji with a small smirk on his face.

"As good as any," answered Naruto as he and Neji bumped fists with each other.

Naruto then turned his attention to Gaara. "So this is it, eh, Gaara…."

Gaara was silent before asking what had been on his mind this whole time, "Why?"

Naruto sighed again. "You know, everyone seems to be asking me that lately…."

"You told me that you fought for your comrades, and yet…." Gaara went silent.

Naruto grabbed the Seikatsugakari from his back before bringing it forward and raising it. "And who says that I'm still not?"

Hearing this caused for Gaara to look at him with a questioning look.

"The only problem is that the comrades that I thought that were my comrades…well, they weren't. They never knew the real me. But the ones that I have now….well, they're different."

Neji was silent at hearing that as he remembered how Naruto had actually saved his life when Gaara had first attacked him.

"I have new comrades now. That's all there is to it," stated Naruto.

Gaara chuckled humorlessly as he closed his eyes. "And here I was planning on saving you like you saved me those years ago…."

"My darkness is just simply too big for you to erase it. Or well, for anyone really," replied Naruto.

"I see…."

"You might actually be stronger than me, Gaara," said Naruto softly. "After all, you managed to get over your own hatred for your village as well as for its people while I couldn't. But I'm still moving forward with what I'm doing. I chose this, and I'm prepared to see it through to the end as well as for the consequences that it will bring as a result of my decision."

With that, Naruto brought the Seikatsugakari down on the ground, stabbing Gaara right through his chest before the said redhead turned into ash.

"Gaara, eh," said Neji with a sigh.

"He was just simply fighting for what he thought was right," responded Naruto as he placed his sword on his back again. "We just simply switched places is all except that unlike me, he couldn't bring me back."

Neji simply glanced at Naruto, not knowing exactly what was going on in the Uzumaki's mind.

"You can come out now," said Naruto, making Zetsu appear on the ground in front of the duo.

White Zetsu pouted slightly, making both Naruto and Neji cringe at the sight. It wasn't a pretty one, after all.

"I told you that we had already missed it," said White Zetsu.

**"Shut it,"** was the response from Black Zetsu.

"Did you find him?" asked Naruto.

**"We did,"** answered Black Zetsu. **"He's hiding himself in one of the underground bases that must likely belonged to Orochimaru when he was still in Konoha for his experiments right underneath the center of the village."**

'Underneath the center of the village?' repeated Neji in his mind. 'I don't know whether that's stupid or brilliant….'

"You better hurry though," continued White Zetsu. "We don't know if he sensed us or not…."

Naruto simply nodded before looking at Neji. "I need for you to find me Anko. I don't like the fact that she hasn't turned up yet."

**"About that,"** began Black Zetsu, causing for Naruto to look at him. **"Kabuto actually has her right now…."**

"Is that so?" said Naruto with an unreadable tone in his voice. "Do whatever you have to do then, Neji. I have to pay someone a visit right now."

With that, Naruto disappeared in black flash.

Neji could only chuckle as he turned around and made to walk back to the village. "I pity Kabuto already…."

Zetsu simply sunk back into the ground, intent on seeing what would happen.

* * *

><p><strong>"Okamaitachi!"<strong>

Yugito jumped into the air in order to dodge the heavy air currents that were sent by Temari who was dressed in the standard jonin uniform from Suna.

Temari then proceeded to send even more gust of winds toward the airborne kunoichi from Kumo.

'So she's a long range fighter, is she?' thought Yugito as she inhaled deeply.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

The fireball immediately consumed the gusts of winds, making it even more powerful as it made its way towards Temari.

Seeing this, Temari immediately pushed chakra to her feet in order to jump backwards in order to dodge the attack.

'I'm at a disadvantage here,' thought Temari as she came to a stop. Fire beats wind of course. Well, under normal circumstances at least.

Yugito landed gracefully on the ground as she focused on the Suna kunoichi in front of her.

All around them, the rest of the Suna shinobi were trying to fight back the fully transformed Bee only for them to be swatted away like flies by one of the tentacles. It seemed like Bee was having fun if his slight humming was any indication. He was most likely thinking of new rap lyrics while fending off the Suna shinobi.

Yugito and Temari had a stare off for about five seconds before Temari swung her fan forward and sent an even bigger torrent of winds.

Yugito scowled at this. 'I'm really starting to hate that damn fan of hers….'

Yugito then got on all fours before jumping to the side to stick to one of the walls of the buildings around them in order to not get hit by the winds.

Temari then swung her fan again, creating even more gusts of winds and sending them towards Yugito again.

'That does it!' screamed Yugito in anger and frustration as she pushed chakra to both her feet and hands as she pushed herself off the wall and into the air.

"Stop moving so much, dammit!" screamed Temari.

"You stop swinging that damn fan of yours so much!" retorted Yugito as she landed on the spot that she had been before on the ground, still on all fours.

Temari scowled before she bit her thumb and ran it all across her fan.

**"Stop playing too much already, kitten!"** screamed Matatabi in Yugito's mind. **"I want out now!"**

Yugito sighed mentally before nodding.

Temari then swung her fan yet again except that this was different from before.

**"Kuchiyose: Kirikiri Mai!"**

An one eyed sickle holding weasel appeared as an enormous torrent wind appeared behind the said summoning who rode through the wind.

Matatabi's chakra began to surround Yugito before she fired her own attack.

**"Nezumi Kedama!"**

The mouse shaped fireball split itself into smaller and deadlier parts that all took the same mouse shape before it came in contact with Temari's attack. The fireballs all flew around Temari's attack, going straight for the said Suna kunoichi.

Seeing this, Temari prepared to jump upward which we did, only for the fireballs to chase right after her.

'They're tracking me!' thought Temari in realization as she brought her fan forward, prepared to fight them back. Which she did for a few, only for one to be able to hit her which caused an explosion in the air which was amplified by the rest of the fireballs coming in contact with her as well.

Temari's summon was simply squashed by a giant blue flame covered foot that belonged to none other than Matatabi who didn't even flinch at the rest of the attack hit the foot that had been used to crush the summon.

A badly injured Temari landed on the ground with a thud, her body covered completely in burns.

Seeing this, Matatabi's mouth opened before shooting a massive fireball at the down Temari which engulfed her immediately, burning her alive.

**"Let's do this, Gyuki!"** screamed Matatabi while looking back at the eight tailed octopus.

Gyuki nodded as Matatabi stood next to him before they prepared a combined tailed beast ball.

Those who saw this were immediately on the run as the bigger than average attack was shot, destroying many buildings in the area in the process, engulfing the area in a big explosion.

* * *

><p>Outside of the village in the forest that it was surrounded in, another confrontation was taking place between the samurai from the Land of Iron and the shinobi from the village of Ame.<p>

One Uzumaki Mito could only scowl as she cut through another samurai with a kunai in hand before Fuka appeared behind her, the two redheads standing back to back with each other.

"So it seems that the samurai really did join in," commented Fuka with a kunai in her hand as well as she looked all around her, stating the obvious.

"Well, Kushina did kill their leader," responded Mito with a frown on her face. "But we've been delayed by this too long. I want to get to Konoha as soon as possible before Naruto destroys it by himself…."

"Mito-sama!" screamed one Ame shinobi on top of a tree behind them. "I see Konoha! Although it's currently being attacked by what appears to be a giant octopus and a cat as well as dragons!"

Fuka blinked dumbly at hearing that.

'The Hachibi and the Nibi, is it?' thought Mito. 'So, has that Uchiha arrived to the village already as well? But for the dragons…something tells me that Naruto is behind that….'

"I'm just going to take that in stride," muttered Fuka.

"We need to get going then," said Mito out loud before finding the two individuals that she was looking for fighting a good distance away from them. "Roshi, Han! We need to cut through these samurai this instant!"

Both Jinchuriki simply nodded as they finished killing the last of the samurai that they had been fighting against before red chakra began to surround them both.

Another Ame shinobi appeared in front of both Mito and Fuka with an alarmed look on his face. "Mito-sama! We have shinobi from Iwa approaching from our rear!"

Mito scowled heavily at this. 'Damn you, Onoki!'

"What are we going to do now?" asked Fuka with a frown.

"We're going to let our heavy muscle take care of them," replied Mito as she looked at both Roshi and Han.

Seeing where Mito was going, Fuka smirked.

'We're almost there,' thought Mito as she gazed at the direction of where Konoha stood. 'Almost there before all of this ends….'

* * *

><p>Kabuto was not in a good mood right now. No sir, he was not. He was in a bad mood. No, even worse than that. He had underestimated Itachi. And now, he was praying the price.<p>

Kabuto could only grind his teeth together in anger as he felt all of his beads on the board in front of him crack in tiny pieces save for the ones that belonged to Itachi and Madara. Not that it matter anyway. He didn't have any control of either Uchiha at this point.

Not only that, but he had just lost the Kages as well as Jiraiya now. It was not looking good for him right now.

'I'm going to have to use her now,' thought Kabuto as he looked back at the still unconscious Anko laying behind him.

It was then that his danger senses went off as a dark flash appeared in front of him.

Kabuto jumped back at the last second but felt a cut appear on his right cheek as well as some of his strength leaving him.

"Who-"

"Knock, knock, it's your friendly neighborhood Uzumaki!" said Naruto with a feral grin as he placed his Seikatsugakari on his shoulder.

Kabuto frowned as he looked at Naruto in his crouched position. "You….how did you find me?"

"You don't have to worry about that," replied Naruto as his grin grew, "because you're going to die right now anyways!"

Kabuto chuckled as he stood up. "It doesn't matter now, I guess. I've been waiting for this chance all along! Now, I will finally have those eyes of yours, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto's face grew disgusted. "Would you mid not adding the -kun. It's really creepy, you know."

But Kabuto didn't respond. Instead, he merely readjusted his glasses.

Before they could continue, however, two blurs landed beside Naruto.

Naruto smirked lightly while not taking his eyes off Kabuto. "So you two are here too, eh?"

"Good to see you too," said Itachi from Naruto's left with a chuckle.

"Hm," was all Sasuke said from Naruto's left.

Now Kabuto was not enjoying his chances. Not only Naruto, but Sasuke and Itachi as well? Even he wasn't arrogant enough to say that he could take all of them at the same time.

"I'm not even going to ask how you're even free," began Naruto as he glanced at Itachi before turning to look at Kabuto again, "but welcome to the team."

"It's an honor," replied Itachi with some humor laced in his tone as he too looked at Kabuto.

"Shall we get this started?" said Sasuke with a dark grin as his eternal mangekyo activated.

"That is something that we can all agree on," said Naruto with a chuckle.

Never would have Naruto expected to team up with both Itachi who had been hunting for his bijuu in the past and Sasuke who had left the village while almost killing him as well. Karma was a true bitch.

**"And so it begins…."** muttered Kurama.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Hmm….what can I say? Well, I actually have a few things to say. Or maybe not a few, but whatever.**

**First things first (if that even makes sense), enough with the whole 'if I hate this character or not' business. I've already explained myself with that whole mess. So many people messaging me about that that it just got annoying at this point. So I killed Hinata! I also just killed Gaara, Temari, and….well a bunch of other characters as well. Get over it already! This is not even canon!**

**Secondly and this is story wise….I've been asked just how the hell can peace be born from all of this. On that regard, Naruto doesn't give a damn about peace at this point. But yes, I'm not going to lie that that will be the end result. How? Just stick around until the ending because I'm keeping my mouth shut about that for the moment.**

**Speaking of the ending, yes I've already planned it out. Who is going to live and who is going to die. All of that stuff. Some of you might not like it, but…..that is how it will go.**

**And thirdly: I've been asked if I'm going to write another story after this one. And the answer is yes. But it is not going to be a 'Dark Naruto' like this one. In case you haven't noticed this by now, but I'm a fan of both 'light' and 'dark' Naruto stories. If it's well written and has a good plot, I don't care whether Naruto is good or bad. I'll read it anyway. That may disappoint some of you in not all, and I apologize for that. But that's how it is.  
><strong>

**I suppose that that's all that I have to say for now….I think. If I missed something, tell me. As well as to what you thought of this chapter.**

**Till next time.**


	56. Arrival

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 55:<br>Arrival**

If there was one thing that Kabuto did not like in this world, no despised would be the better word, it would be a surprise. He just didn't like the aspect that that word brought. And who would! Well, in his mind at least. Seriously, to be caught off guard by something that you would never expect? And sometimes even for the amusement of some people...

Like birthday surprises. Now there was one thing that Kabuto did not like in the slightest. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he never really did have the chance to experience one. Talk about a childhood….

But the surprise that he was currently experiencing was certainly in the top three most hated ones. And it wasn't anywhere near a birthday surprise. Not only that, but he was also very much pissed at life in general at the moment. Why? He really didn't know. He just was, period.

"I can't really tell you just how much I have waited for this moment," stated Naruto as he took a single step forward which caused for Kabuto to take a step back. "Ever since that day in Uzu, I've been wanting to pay you back." Naruto then shrugged. "The only downside will be that Mito won't be able to add her own punishment that she had in mind for you. But beggars can't be choosers."

Kabuto simply readjusted his glasses as he look at Naruto while keeping both Itachi and Sasuke in his peripherals. "You make it sound like you've already won, and that I stand no chance here."

Naruto chuckled. "That's because that's exactly what I'm saying! I alone would have been able to take care of you. But it seems that both Itachi and Sasuke here want a shot at you as well."

"Call it me doing my part in this group," said Itachi from Naruto's side. "One which will benefit the whole group and not just one person," he added while glancing at Sasuke for a moment.

"Welcome aboard," simply said Naruto in response.

Kabuto then brought his hands together. Already knowing what he was trying to do, Naruto was in front of the snake skin covered individual, swinging the Seikatsugakari towards Kabuto's head.

Kabuto jumped back the moment before the sword's blade could come in contact with his neck, lest he be beheaded.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in surprise. "And here I thought that you couldn't actually fight."

Kabuto chuckled. "I prefer not to, really. But it's something that cannot be avoided at times, no matter how much I dislike to."

"It would be wise if you don't kill him," said Itachi from his position in a calm tone.

"And why is that?" asked Naruto without facing to look at him.

"If you do, then the Edo Tensei will not be dispelled, meaning that I'll be stuck here forever," answered Itachi.

Naruto chuckled at hearing that. "You don't have to worry about that, Itachi. I have my own way of ending this jutsu of his so that you'll be able to leave this world just like you desire." 'And not see what happens to the village….' he finished in his mind.

But it was too late for that. On his way here, Itachi had already looked at what state Konoha was currently in. And while it pained him, he knew that this outcome would have been unavoidable at the end. His only choice was to make Kabuto undo the Edo Tensei so that he would be able to finally leave the living world without looking at that sight ever again.

But Itachi didn't say any of this out loud. He simply looked at Naruto's back with a curious look. Just what did Naruto mean by when he said that he had his own way?

'It must be the rinnegan,' thought Itachi. It was the only way that he could think of.

But Sasuke wasn't about to let Naruto have all the fun either.

Kabuto immediately jumped upwards towards the ceiling of the empty hideout, using his chakra to stick to it. The reason for this being Sasuke having shot one of his Susanoo arrows at Kabuto.

Since Naruto had been in front of Kabuto, he too had jumped and was now standing in the ceiling as well.

"Oi, teme! Watch where you shoot those things, would you!" said Naruto in slight irritation.

Sasuke merely smirked. "If you couldn't even dodge that, then you don't deserve to be calling the shots. Aren't I right?"

Itachi shook his head slightly at that. 'Still with that rivalry of theirs, eh? Some things never change….'

"Am I in the way of your lover's quarrel?" said Kabuto with amusement.

Naruto looked at him with his own amusement present in his rinnegan eyes. "That should be my line. After all, that snake and you seem to be pretty close…."

Kabuto's amusement disappeared completely at hearing that. Of course, Naruto was referring to the snake that Kabuto always had at his side.

Kabuto then shook his head. "Enough with the games. You said that you wanted to kill me. Well, here I am!"

"I'm not stupid to fall for one of your tricks," retorted Naruto as he extended his left arm towards Kabuto. "Why don't you come to me!"

**"Bansho Tenin!"**

Kabuto scowled as he felt himself be pulled forward towards Naruto. "I'm not going down that easy!"

**"Sen'eijashu!"**

Naruto brought the Seikatsugakari in front of him, preventing the summoned snakes from reaching him. Kabuto for his part used the Seikatsugakari to his own advantage. He brought his feet forward and used the sword's blade as a means to propel him away from Naruto.

Kabuto was immediately on the defensive again, however, as Itachi appeared behind him, delivering a fast speed combo of punches and kicks.

Kabuto grunted in pain as Itachi landed a hit on his lower stomach with one of the kicks. Seeing this, Itachi prepared to use this momentum to his advantage only for Kabuto to disappear as a couple of snakes took his place.

Kabuto reappeared in front of the still unconscious Anko, holding his stomach in slight pain from the Itachi's kick.

'Fighting Itachi in taijutsu is not a good idea,' thought Kabuto in frustration.

He then tilted his head to the left in order to dodge the incoming Seikatsugakari that was thrown by Naruto.

"Don't forget about me," stated Naruto as he landed next to Itachi.

Kabuto chuckled at him as he made to grab the thrown Seikatsugakari that was now implanted on the ground next to Anko. "Well, now you've a mistake! Because this sword will now be-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as crimson energy erupted from the Seikatsugakari which prevented him from grabbing it. Hell, he had to step back in order to not get hit by the seeming wild energy that was emanating from it. The crimson energy, however, seemed to not harm the unconscious Anko in the slightest.

It was Naruto's turn to chuckle at him. "Sorry for you, but that sword chooses who will be its wielder. And it looks like that it doesn't like you very much."

Itachi's interest peaked at hearing this. 'Is that sword sentient?' he wondered. Now that was handy. It reminded him of Kisame and the Samehada.

Kabuto frowned at hearing that. Well, that sucked.

**"Fire Style: Hosenka!"**

The snake that was also beside Kabuto quickly wrapped itself around him, completely protecting him from the fast and small fireballs that were shot by none other than Sasuke.

Naruto smirked slightly, not that Sasuke could see as he was standing behind him and Itachi. "And here I was wondering when you were actually going to do something…."

Sasuke didn't respond.

The crimson energy created a barrier that shielded Anko from getting hit by any of the fireballs. No doubt on Naruto's orders was it doing all of this.

"Fighting the three of you is really a hassle," stated Kabuto as the snake unwrapped itself from around him. "Even I have to say that I can't handle it…."

"Tough luck," retorted Naruto, "because we're not letting you summon any more of those shinobi in your collection. Really, that would just be a pain in the ass."

"But you're also not running away like usual," continued Itachi, "which makes me wonder as to why that is."

Kabuto's silence was the response that Itachi received.

"It's that woman behind him," said Sasuke as he walked forward until he was standing beside his brother and Naruto. "That curse mark that she has….that is what you were after, isn't it?"

Kabuto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "And how would you know that?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I didn't. I was just taking a guess. But it seems that I was right after all."

"Oh, so that's what you wanted," said Naruto in realization. "I was wondering as to why you even bothered to capture Anko in the first place. But there is one more question though….what are you planning on doing with her curse mark?"

"I was going to use its chakra to empower me," Kabuto answered, not bothering to hide what his intentions were. "I was going to do it before you three arrived. But now…."

"You're not getting the chance to."

Kabuto's eyes widened as he heard Naruto's voice coming from behind him as well as feeling a wave of pain hit him throughout his whole body.

Naruto was behind Kabuto with the Seikatsugakari in hand, having used it to stab Kabuto in the chest. But then Naruto raised an eyebrow as he noticed that his sword had stabbed something liquid instead of something solid.

"Say hello to one of my modifications," stated Kabuto as his chest area was liquid-like for the moment.

"That's Suigetsu's power," muttered Sasuke at seeing this.

'So those are your intentions,' thought Itachi in realization as his Susanoo sprang to life around him.

Naruto then chuckled. "Something like this won't stop save you, you know. It looks like you don't know what my Seikatsugakari is capable of, do you?"

Kabuto didn't know what he meant by that until he felt even more strength leaving him. Not understanding what was going on fully, Kabuto still knew that he was in a bad position.

Naruto retracted his sword and jumped back as multiple of snakes appeared around Kabuto, intent on bringing down Naruto.

'Almost there,' thought Naruto as he landed.

'Just what is that sword?' wondered Kabuto as the wound that was caused by the Seikatsugakari healed in a matter of seconds. 'It felt like my strength was being taken away, but not physically…but spiritually.' Weird…..or was it?

**"Yasaka no Magatama!"**

The snakes that were surrounding Kabuto shot to the ceiling, using their sharp fangs to stick to the ceiling and bringing Kabuto along with them in order for said individual to not get hit by Itachi's attack.

'This guy is a real pain in the ass,' thought Naruto as he looked up at Kabuto.

**"Then do something about it,"** said Kurama with a roll of his eyes.

'You don't have to tell me that twice….'

Naruto placed the Seikatsugakari on his back as he walked towards both Itachi and Sasuke, all the while keeping Kabuto in sight.

"How about for a triple attack?" said Naruto as he stopped in front of both Uchiha brothers, looking up at Kabuto.

"With pleasure," was Sasuke's answer as his Susanoo appeared around him.

Itachi merely nodded his head, signifying that he agreed.

**"Water Style: Suiryudan!"**

Naruto's own Susanoo erupted into life, surrounding the said silver haired individual and used on of its swords to split the water dragon that was made by Kabuto in half, making it die off right then and there.

'So the power of his Susanoo lies in those swords of his, does it?' thought Itachi as he looked at Naruto's Susanoo for the first time. Kabuto was also thinking of the same thing at the moment.

Seeing Naruto's Susanoo readied its swords, both Itachi and Sasuke prepared themselves as well.

**"Ankoku no Kensurasshu!"**

**"Yasaka no Magatama!"**

**"Enton: Yasaka no Magatama!"**

Kabuto could only watch as the three attacks by Naruto and the Uchiha brothers were fired and sent at him at an incredible speed.

The end result? A big explosion that shook the whole area, both underground and on the surface.

* * *

><p>In the forest surrounding the village of Konoha, the battle between the Ame shinobi and the samurai continued on to its climax as both Han and Roshi transformed into their perfect bijuu mode.<p>

Mito could be seen running towards where Konoha stood, killing or heavily injuring any samurai that came her way with the kunai still in hand.

'I don't have time for this,' she thought to herself in impatience as a small group of five samurai came at her with their swords in hand. She was ready to take them down when someone landed in front of her.

**"Water Style: Ja no Kuchi!"**

The five samurai could only curse as a column of water in the form of a snake impacted with them, sending them floating back and away and away.

Mito rolled her eyes at the person in front of her. "I could have taken care of them, you know."

Fuka simply looked back at Mito and sent her fellow redhead a wink. "Just trying to be helpful is all."

Mito chuckled slightly before turning serious. "We need to get a move on. I'm not sure for how long Roshi and Han will be able to stall the Tsuchikage and his army."

"We're not going to be able to handle this alone," stated Fuka as she and Mito took off running once again. "Ame shinobi aren't as well trained as those from Iwa. Not to mention the fact at how much larger of a number of shinobi that they posses that is only rivaled to that of Kumo."

"It can't be helped," replied Mito with a small sigh. "But don't forget that we also have Kiri on our side as well."

Fuka didn't respond to that. The only bad thing at the moment was the timing of everything occurring. If only Naruto had been more patient than Mito would not be so impatient right now. Really. Were all Uzumakis like this? But then again, she was also an Uzumaki. Well, she had her answer right there.

Both redheads stopped on their tracks as a small squadron of Iwa shinobi appeared in front of them, stopping them from advancing.

'So they've already reached our position,' thought Mito with a frown. Things were not looking so good right now thanks to this. There was no way that the Ame shinobi that she had brought with her would be able to handle the Iwa shinobi. Not to mention the fact that they had already been fighting the samurais for a while now as well.

In the next moment before the Iwa shinobi in front of them could attack, a giant white hoof came down on them from behind both female Uzumaki, squashing the Iwa shinobi and instantly killing them in that moment.

Mito could only smirk as she looked up behind her to see the Gobi.

"Thanks for that," said Mito in gratitude.

The Gobi simply lowered his head, signifying that he wanted for them to climb on top of it.

Mito did so instantly while Fuka did so a bit reluctantly.

"Woah!" exclaimed Fuka as the Gobi raised his head back to its full height again. Looking behind her, Fuka could see the form of the Yonbi fighting through wave after wave of both Iwa shinobi and samurai with the shinobi from Ame cheering him on.

"All right," began Mito before she pointed to the direction of Konoha, "let's go!"

Before the Gobi could move an inch, one floating Onoki appeared in front of them.

Mito smirked at him. "Well, if it isn't the old fossil. You have some nerve to be here, I'll give you that much."

Onoki simply hmph'ed at her with his arms crossed. "You don't scare me in the slightest, Uzumaki. And neither does the Yondaime's son for that matter."

"Age must be getting to him then," muttered Fuka. Really, what else could it be? His ego perhaps. It was obviously bigger than his whole body combined!

"Really, Onoki. You're just a fool that has lived for far too long," said Mito with a sigh. "But seeing that you want to continue to get in our way, it will be my pleasure to finally send you to the afterlife."

Onoki snorted at that. "I really don't care what happens to Konoha. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to profit from this once this is all over. So I really should thank you and that brat for doing all of this. But what you're planning on doing afterwards, I'm not going to turn a blind eye to."

Fuka chuckled, catching Onoki's attention. "Well, I'm pretty sure that you could if you wanted to. After all, you have two of them."

Mito shrugged. "She's right, you know."

But Onoki didn't take the bait. "Enough with the games. Once I have killed you and brought both of my jinchuriki back with me, I'm going to kill that Uzumaki brat and take the Kyuubi back with me as well."

Mito raised an eyebrow as she heard this. "Quite the ambitious little man, aren't you?"

"I am what I am," replied Onoki before he brought of his hands forward in order to shield himself from the impact from the Gobi's head, making the Gobi stop dead on his tracks.

**"We're not coming back with you,"** stated the five tailed horse.

Onoki frowned. "We'll see about that. My shinobi will soon rip yours apart," he stated while looking up at Mito.

Mito smirked at him while she pointed behind her towards the rampaging Yonbi. "We'll see about that."

Seeing this, Onoki could only scowl. No matter, he would rap things up here before he did the same with Roshi and his bijuu.

That was before he saw something that made all of the confidence that he had at this point disappear in a matter of a single second. And that was the emergence of a giant six tailed slug in the middle of the battlefield next to the Yonbi.

"What the-"

Mito smirked. "So it seems that they've finally arrived, have they?"

Concentrating further, Onoki could see the appearance of Kiri shinobi who began to enforce the weary Ame shinobi as well as the Yonbi.

But it still didn't matter. Even with Kiri-

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

Onoki immediately flew backwards and away from the Gobi and the two female redheads in order to dodge the fireball that was shot at him.

Mito simply closed her eyes as someone else appeared besides her and Fuka. "So, you hadn't arrived until just now, had you?"

One Uchiha Mikoto smirked as she ran a hand through her long black hair. "Nope, not until now at least. I do apologize for the delay though."

Before Mito could respond, someone else landed in front of them.

Mikoto grinned at the newcomer. "It seems that you're even more late than me though. Aren't I right, Kushina?"

One Uzumaki Kushina simply chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so…."

"Well, it seems that we're all here then," said Mito with a small smile before she looked at the now angry Onoki. "You've now lost, old man. You chose the wrong side, and now you will pay for it."

And true to her words, the tide on the battlefield was now going in their favor as Kumo shinobi accompanied by the Raikage appeared, completely fighting back the Iwa shinobi as well as the samurai. Using this to their momentum, both shinobi from Ame and Kiri began their attack like there was no tomorrow.

Onoki could only grind his teeth together in barely restrained anger. "You…."

"It's our time now," interrupted Kushina as she along with the two other female Uzumakis and the one female Uchiha prepared herself. The Gobi merely looked at the Tsuchikage in indifference.

Well, this turned out to be a very bad day for one small man. And that was an understatement for the century...

* * *

><p>One mint haired girl could be see running and hopping from rooftop to rooftop through the village of Konoha near the Hokage Mountain.<p>

So far, she had encountered few resistance. It seemed that all of the major fighting was occurring near where Yugito and Bee were fighting at the moment. Which was a good thing for her as far as she was concerned.

And what was her destination? She really didn't know. All she could hope for was to run into Neji by random chance. Not a very good plan, you might say. Well, she never really was one for being a thinker at any rate.

Fu then landed on a rooftop in front of the Hokage building, the Hokage Mountain standing behind it. The reason she stopped being the fact that the building was surrounded by multiple anbu as well as on top of its rooftop.

'Well, this sucks,' thought Fu as she took a step back. Fighting anbu was something that she was not in the mood for right now. Or well, ever really.

"You really are careless."

Fu immediately turned around and kneed whoever had said that straight at the person's 'jewels.' Said unfortunate person happened to be none other than one Hyuuga Neji who was on his knees the next moment with a pained look on his face.

Seeing who it was, Fu gasped as she kneeled in front of him with an apologizing look. "Neji, I'm so sorry! But you just can't startle me like that!"

"Lesson learned," said Neji through the pain that he was currently feeling.

As Fu helped Neji to his feet, the anbu from the Hokage building were suddenly around them entirely, surrounding them.

"You two, don't move," said the one in front of the gathered anbu that was standing in front of both Fu and Neji who they also assumed to be the leader.

Looking around, Neji counted about twelve anbu present even through his current pained state.

Before they could do anything, however, another individual landed on the rooftop behind the anbu that had spoken.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

The anbu and those near him were blown back off the rooftop and towards the streets below them.

Both Fu and Neji brought their hands to their faces to shield themselves from the shockwave from the attack.

The remaining anbu were then on the move towards the individual who simply brought his gunbai that was strapped on his back forward, swinging it towards the anbu and sending powerful gusts of winds that sent them flying just like their teammates had been just a moment before.

One Uchiha Madara placed his weapon on his back again as he looked at both Fu and Neji. "You two need to be more careful."

Neji raised an eyebrow at him. "And who exactly are you?"

"Call me Uchiha Madara."

Both Fu's and Neji's eyes widened as they heard this as well as Chomei's.

Fu raised a shaking arm, pointing it straight at him. "J-just how-"

Madara shook his head as he turned away from them. "Don't worry about it. I already know that you're with Naruto so you have nothing to fear from me. But please put a good show for me if you will."

With that, Madara jumped off the rooftop and landed on the now vacant rooftop of the Hokage building, sitting down with his legs crossed and placing his gunbai down next to him.

Both Fu and Neji looked at him with a questioning look. Just what did he mean by when he said to-

"Neji!"

Oh….so that's what he meant.

Both Fu and Neji turned around to face the direction of where Fu had come from to come face to face with Lee and Tenten.

'Shit,' thought Neji. He was not looking forward to this at all.

Both Lee and Tenten landed in front of them, both with an angry look on their faces.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Neji!" screamed Tenten in anger.

Lee was silent, awaiting the answer from his life time rival.

Neji sighed. "Well, you would find out eventually I guess. The truth of the matter is that I'm no longer on Konoha's side. Hell, none from the Hyuuga clan is anymore." Not that it matter. Neji wondered if any Hyuuga, besides him of course, were still alive in the village. He doubted it, but you never know.

Tenten pointed at him with an even more furious look. "Just what are you-"

"I've already answered you," interrupted Neji as he activated his byakugan. "I'm on Naruto's side now which means I'm also your enemy. That's all that you need to know."

Tenten took a step back in shock while Lee stepped forward. "Neji, I don't-"

"I've already said what I have to," interrupted Neji once again as he got into his taijutsu stance "Now, are you going to attack me or not?"

Hearing this, Lee also got into his taijutsu stance. "I will stop you, Neji. Your youth can still be cleansed!"

Neji chuckled humorlessly. "I guess that that's what I'm going to miss the most from you, Lee."

"I guess it's just you and me then, eh, buns?" said Fu as her green armor surrounded her.

Tenten frowned before she readied herself. She knew Lee could handle things on his own. And she needed to do the same.

On the rooftop of the Hokage building, Madara simply continued to watch. If only he had a refreshment right about now...

Really, he needed to be more prepare for these kinds of things!

* * *

><p>Back on the underground base that used to belong to one snake pedophile in the past, the explosion from the combined attack from Naruto, Itachi, and Sasuke had died off to reveal a very injured Kabuto with his cloak having been completely destroyed.<p>

Naruto's face become disgusted once again as he saw the true body of Orochimaru coming out from Kabuto's navel snake. "You really have an obsession with that guy, don't you?"

Kabuto scowled as he held his left shoulder in pain while standing right underneath the newly created hole that was in the middle of the ceiling which let the sun rays from the afternoon sun hit the underground base.

"You of all people should understand why I have done everything that I have at this point," replied Kabuto in slight anger.

Naruto chuckled humorlessly as he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking straight at Kabuto. "I guess you're right about that. But I'm still going to kill you."

Kabuto's lips transformed into a grin. "And I'm still going to capture you along with Sasuke-kun over there."

Said Uchiha hmph'ed at hearing that. "I really doubt that…."

"For once, I agree with the teme," added Naruto.

"I'm also here," stated Itachi. "And I'm not going to let that happen."

Kabuto didn't respond. Instead, he disappeared from his spot only to reappear in besides the still unconscious Anko.

"I still have this!" he screamed as he tried to absorb the chakra from Anko's curse seal, his back turned to them. If he had been thinking clearly, he would have known that that was a stupid move to make.

Seeing this, Naruto quickly sprung into action.

**"Bansho Tenin!"**

Kabuto grunted in pain as he felt himself be pulled backwards this time. The chakra that he had hoped and had started to absorb was left unattended because of this.

Quickly seeing what Naruto intended to do, Kabuto made to shed his skin just like Orochimaru did only for Naruto to grab and throw the Seikatsugakari straight at his back.

Blood gushed out from Kabuto's mouth as the sword pierced him for a second time from his back, quickly absorbing what energy he had left from his corrupted soul.

Kabuto felt the last of his strength leave him as he landed on the ground on his front side with a thud, the Seikatsugakari still sticking out from his back.

'No….' thought Kabuto in frustration as his vision began to blur. 'I cannot die like this! My dream….I was destined to discover every secret in this world! Just like the Rikudo Sennin….it was my destiny….'

Kabuto then closed his eyes as his body along with the Orochimaru snake clone were turned into ashes, leaving one single scroll in the pile of ashes that had once been his body.

Naruto calmly walked up to where Kabuto had laid and died and picked up the Seikatsugakari, placing it on his back again as well as picking up the scroll and placing it in one of his own pockets for safe keeping. He would study it later.

**"So that makes Kabuto…."** muttered Kurama.

Only one more target left now.

"So that's it," said Itachi as he walked to stand besides Naruto. "You said that-"

"I know," interrupted Naruto as he looked at him. "And I plan to keep it."

"Itachi," began Sasuke as he looked at his brother, "why-"

"I've already told you, little brother," interrupted Itachi as he looked at him in what was acceptance. "This is all that I can do. I won't stop any of you, but I can't help you any further than of what I have done either."

Naruto sighed as he chuckled. "You really are different from the rest of the Uchiha, aren't you, Itachi?"

Itachi also chuckled. "Yes, I suppose that I am. Now-"

Itachi stopped as he suddenly felt an all too familiar chakra erupt into life from behind him, both Naruto and Sasuke sensing it as well.

"Hehehehe…."

'Son of a bitch,' thought Naruto as he heard the laugh, Kurama sharing his thoughts.

Things were not over yet, it seemed.

* * *

><p>On another part of the village, one random Konoha shinobi fell to the ground dead, having been stabbed from behind him by none other than a grinning Suigetsu. Many other bodies of dead Konoha shinobi laid behind him, him having been the caused for their death.<p>

"Oi, Suigetsu! Stop playing around!" screamed Kari with a hand on her glasses. "We need to link up with Sasuke right now!"

Hearing this caused for Suigetsu to snort as he placed the Kubikiribocho on his shoulder. "He left us behind. I think that that's a pretty clear sing that he doesn't want us around right now, don't you?"

Karin scowled at that. "It's only because you're too damn slow to follow him, that's why!"

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow at her direction as well as a smirk. "Oh? So then what are you if you're here as well?"

Karin merely grumbled under her breath as she turned away from the swordsman. "Forget it, then! I'll just go on and find him on my own!"

Suigetsu merely shrugged as he too turned away from the redhead and began to walk away in the opposite direction. "Do what you want."

Before Karin could try finding Sasuke's chakra, she suddenly felt a hand on top of her head with an individual that she did not recognize appearing right in front of her in a flash. She could not see his eyes either for his jet black hair was currently shadowing them.

_**"Uzumaki Naruto….where is he?"**_

'This guy's chakra….is so dark,' thought Karin as she began to sweat from sensing the individual's huge amount of chakra.

"I-I don't know…." she answered meekly as well as being the last thing that she ever said in this lifetime.

_**"Then you are useless to me," **_stated the individual before he began to pull on something. And that something was Karin's soul.

Karin's eyes rolled to the back of her head as the individual finished in completely ripping out her soul from her body, her body falling to the ground face first as a result of this. She was dead even before she hit the ground.

The individual then released the soul, not seeing any use of it any longer as it disappeared into nothingness.

_**"Hey, you."**_

Suigetsu who had been walking away and had missed what had happened to Karin turned around to look at whoever it was that had addressed him. "What?"

_**"Uzumaki Naruto….where is he?"**_

Suigetsu snorted at the question. "How the hell should I know that?"

_**"I see….then you are of no use to me."**_

Hearing this caused Suigetsu to smirk. "What? You wanna fight or something?" But it was then that he noticed the body of Karin on the ground which made him stop for a moment. Just what had-

The individual simply extended his right arm forward.

**"Bansho Tenin!"**

Suigetsu's eyes widened in complete surprise as he was pulled forward towards the individual. In response, Suigetsu brought the Kubikiribocho forward, intent on slicing whoever the person in front of him was.

Seeing this, the individual simply brought his other arm forward, stopping the blade of the sword as well as placing his other hand on Suigetsu's head much like he had done so with Karin once he was close enough.

Suigetsu could not believe what he had seen. The person in front of him stopped the Kubikiribocho with a single arm! He wasn't able to dwell on this any further, however, as the individual pulled out his soul much like he had done with Karin.

Suigetsu's body fell to the ground on top of Karin's next to the individual who had not moved an inch the whole time.

The individual then released the soul, not seeing any use in it either. Said soul simply disappeared into nothingness like Karin's had.

The individual's hair then exposed his eyes, revealing them to be the ringed pattern that belong to none other than the rinnegan. The individual then looked out towards the Hokage Mountain.

_**'Naruto….I will find you. And once I do, I will kill you. That's a promise.'**_

Shin had arrived to Konoha, ready to settle the score with Naruto once and for all.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Yeah, I'm back! How long has it been? Two days? Maybe three? At any rate, here you go my faithful readers! Well, hopefully you are….**

**But whatever. I've really got nothing else to say except for one thing, and that is something I keep forgetting to address for a while now. And that is as to why I didn't put any lemons in this story. The answer to that question if of two reasons. 1) I'm pretty sure that I would suck at writing them, so I don't even try. And yes, I know of the whole 'don't say you can't do something unless you try it first' concept; but I'm just not bothering to try. Period. 2) I don't know if this has ended yet or not, but there was a 'purge' going on in this site that erased any story with sex scenes on them. And I really don't want to see that happen to this story because if it does, I wouldn't continue it. I would be too lazy to re-write the whole thing. So there you go.**

**And one final thing: there's this trip that I'm planning on going in the middle of July which will be out of the country, and I don't know when I'll return from it. My hope is to finish this story by then, but if that doesn't happen….well, I've warned you about a month in advance.**

**As always, a review is appreciated.**

**Till next time.**


	57. Until The End

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<br>**_**"Hmm…"- **_**Shin**

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><p><strong>Chapter 56:<br>Until The End**

In life, everyone has different viewpoints in certain matters….okay, in every matter. It's both a rarity and a blessing when two parties can actually have the same opinion on a certain issue. But unfortunately, life is not that simple. That's the fact in life, period.

It was the same with both Naruto and Sasuke. In most things, they disagreed, period. Sometimes for no real reason either. But that was just how it was. Idiotic? Perhaps. Childish? Maybe. Fun? Hell yes. Well, in their minds at least.

But if there was one thing that both Uzumaki and Uchiha could agree on was the fact that they never, and they meant in the history of ever, did they ever want to hear the laugh that they were currently hearing at the moment. But as it were, it seemed that their prayers were not answered. Really, that just sucked. Plain and simple.

One Uchiha Itachi could also agree with his 'foolish little brother' and presumed 'rival' on this matter. He himself had had enough dealings with the owner of the laugh than that of which he was comfortably with. When he had heard of his death those weeks ago, or maybe months ago depending on how long he had been dead for….well, he didn't feel much honestly. A little bit of joy perhaps. But that was it. And that same joy had just died the moment that he had heard the laugh.

Naruto could only sigh as he turned around to look at Anko's still unconscious form as more purple chakra began to leak out from her curse seal as well as something else, or rather some_one_ else.

**"Well this sucks…."**

Kurama had just pretty much summed up the current situation that his host was currently in as well as what he thought of this latest twist.

Naruto didn't offer a response to his bijuu as the owner of the laugh was finally completely free from what had once been his safe haven. And said owner happened to be none other than Orochimaru.

Orochimaru chuckled as he laid on the ground, his feet being in the form of that of a snake's body at the moment. He looked intently at the three individuals in front of him in what appeared to be in great amusement. And what exactly was that amusement? Who knew? Except maybe for Kabuto but he was now dead, so that was a moot point at the moment.

Orochimaru finally locked eyes with Naruto, rinnegan eyes meeting his green colored like snake eyes. "I never did expect for me to be revived in this situation….I must say, you have put quite a show, Naruto-kun."

Naruto didn't even acknowledge the -kun placement after his name. As much as he didn't like it and was disgusted by it, it was not the time for something as childish as that. He still hadn't forgotten what Tsunade had told him about what was present in the Sandaime's journal. Mainly Orochimaru's involvement in what had happened for Uzu to be left defenseless that night that the joint force from Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri attacked. That was the main reason why he hadn't bothered to stop Orochimaru's escape from the curse seal, even if he didn't like said individual's laugh or well, the individual himself. Really, who did? Well, besides Kabuto...

"So you've been watching everything from the curse seal, have you?" commented Itachi with a neutral expression on his face.

Orochimaru chuckled again as he finally got into a standing position, his feet turning to their normal human form. "Yes, I have. Everything ever since Naruto-kun here asked for dear Anko to join him all those weeks ago. I was greatly surprised, but I think that I know as to why you're doing all of this…."

Naruto simply looked indifferent as he looked at Orochimaru. "Is that so? And what might my reason be then?"

Orochimaru crossed his arms as he answered, "You somehow found out about what happened with Uzu. It would also explain as to why you ditched my old idiotic teammate those three years ago."

"And that is where you are wrong," interrupted Naruto. "I left Jiraiya for another reason which is unimportant right now. I only found out about Uzu afterwards which is where everything changed for me. But you should know that I also know of your involvement in this, Orochimaru."

Both Itachi and Sasuke glanced at Naruto when they heard this. Orochimaru was also involved in all of this mess? Well, that was a bitch.

Orochimaru merely smirked. "I figured as much. I must asked, though, as to how you came to know of this information. The only ones that knew of this were Danzo and my old sensei…." Orochimaru trailed off as his twisted mind began to race a mile a second.

Naruto smirked. "Exactly. I didn't get a chance to talk to Danzo seeing as circumstances made that almost impossible. But it doesn't matter in the end because of-"

"Sensei's journal," interrupted Orochimaru as he closed his eyes momentarily.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You know of it?"

Orochimaru snorted at that. "Of course I know of it. I was sensei's favorite pupil, after all. I saw him write things in it in the past. But I never imagined that he would also write about that incident in there as well." Orochimaru shook his head. "Age must have gotten to him."

Naruto shrugged. "It was a good thing that he did. Well, for me at least. I don't know how you feel about it though."

Orochimaru waved his hand in dismissal. "I don't care in the slightest. Just like I don't care about this so called 'war' that's currently taking place at the moment."

Naruto crossed his arms in front of him as he looked at Orochimaru with a questioning look. "What do you care about then?"

Orochimaru smirked as he turned his gaze towards Sasuke. "Why, Sasuke-kun's eyes of course."

Sasuke didn't have an outward expression of what he thought as he heard this.

Itachi for his part took a step forward as he looked at Orochimaru in hostility, his mangekyo spinning wildly. "That's the last thing that you will do."

If he felt fear, Orochimaru did a good job at hiding it as he locked eyes with Itachi. "Don't take me for a fool, Itachi. Do you really think that I would try anything right now? The reason that I've lived so long is that I know when I'm clearly outmatched and to not try anything when that happens."

Itachi didn't respond, but he still kept his mangekyo activated eyes on Orochimaru.

"I still have something that I want to know," stated Naruto, making Orochimaru turn his eyes towards him in order to look at him directly, "and only you have the answer to that."

Orochimaru smirked slightly at hearing that. "Let me guess…you want to know as to just how exactly I managed to disable the defensive barriers around Uzu that night…."

Naruto didn't give the snake Sennin a response, but the said Sennin already knew that he had hit right in the mark.

Orochimaru then shrugged slightly. "It wasn't too hard really. The Uzumaki clan were too trustful is all. That was their greatest weakness in a sense. They didn't suspect me in the slightest when I arrived. But that didn't mean that I was any less careful. They didn't suspect me, that much was true. But that didn't mean that they couldn't if I gave them a reason to. Even I wasn't arrogant enough to think that I would have gotten out of there life if that happened….hell, I'm still not!"

"Get to the point already," interrupted Naruto.

Orochimaru sighed slightly before continuing, "Long story short, I 'brainwashed' one of the only few people in the Uzumaki clan that knew as to how just exactly disable the barrier."

Now that brought a new set of questions….well, mainly two. And one of those was-

"What do you mean by brainwashed?" asked Sasuke with a raised eyebrow.

Orochimaru chuckled as he closed his eyes, remembering of the 'good old days.' "It was one of my….earlier experiments. It was a type of virus, I guess you could say. Although that was unintentional as it proved to be a failure giving that it had too many flaws."

Itachi shook his head at that. "And yet, you still used it for something as important as that."

Orochimaru simply shrugged. "At that time, it was the only possibly way that I could have done it. I still didn't have the curse mark at my disposal-"

"Enough," interrupted Naruto. "Go on."

Seeing the impatience of the silver haired jinchuriki's tone, Orochimaru decided to do just that. "Like I have already said, the Uzumaki clan didn't mistrust me in the slightest. They even invited to me a dinner party that was hosted by the clan head himself. Normally they wouldn't have done so much for a regular Konoha shinobi, but I was one of the Sandaime's pupils so that made me…different I suppose." Orochimaru chuckled slightly at that before continuing, "For whatever reason, they invited me which gave me the perfect opportunity that I needed. Like I've said, there was only a handful of people that I knew how to disable the barrier. One of them was the clan head, but he was out of the question for obvious reasons. The next choice and the one that I went with was the clan head's second in command and closest friend-a man named Uzumaki Kenji."

Naruto was simply listening to all of this with rapt attention. At last, the last piece of the puzzle.

Orochimaru then shrugged again as he continued. "It wasn't hard really. During the party that night, I simply slipped the virus in the form of a pill that I had prepared earlier into his drink. There was only one problem though, and that was the Uzumaki's strong immune system. Not willing to take any chances, I decided to make it even more potent than a regular one, almost ten times stronger in fact." Orochimaru stopped as he chuckled. "Remember how I said that the virus was a failure because of its drawbacks? Well, one of them was the ultimate death of the person whose body the virus entered. The virus basically destroys the body from the inside. So I didn't have much time. But the strong resilience of the Uzumaki clan worked in my favor here, but once again, I didn't want to take any chances. The joint force from Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri was to begin the attack once I gave Danzo the 'okay.' I didn't wait too long. The next night was when I ordered for Kenji to deactivate both the barrier and the whirlpools. And the rest….well, history speaks for itself," finished Orochimaru with one final shrug.

"You still haven't explained as to how that 'virus' actually works," commented Itachi.

'I expected no less from him,' thought Orochimaru with an internal smirk. "The virus consists of the most basic thing which is cells."

"Then it's not really a virus," interrupted Sasuke. "A virus is not a cell, nor does it contain any cells."

Orochimaru nodded his head at that. "Yes, but that's just a term for it that I have given it. Nothing else. Call it what you want, it really doesn't change what it does." Orochimaru then paused before continuing, "The cells were programmed to move throughout the whole body, duplicating and replacing the original cells from the host's body. And that's where the problem lies."

"The body itself starts to eventually reject them," guessed Itachi.

Orochimaru clapped. "Bravo, yes. That's exactly the case. In the beginning, I had thought that this wouldn't happen, but my calculations proved to be wrong in the end. But the most important part was the duplication of the cells present in the brain. Once you control that, you have everything else under control. But like with the rest, they too start to be rejected by the body itself. During the time that they're not, though, I have complete control of the person's body."

"Which is what you did with Kenji," finished Naruto as he looked at Orochimaru straight in the eyes. "You also made him tell you just how to deactivate the seals that create the whirlpools surrounding Uzu by yourself which you later gave to Danzo as well….."

Orochimaru was silent for a few moments before he grinned. "You…are exactly correct. I really didn't have any interest in Uzu in the slightest at that time. I still don't really. But Danzo did for some reason…."

'The scroll that the clan head hid,' thought Naruto. Well, the clan head was technically his grandfather, but since he never knew him…..it just felt weird calling him that.

**"Now we know as to how Danzo's little anbu group managed to get into Uzu when Kabuto stole the fuinjutsu that day,"** added Kurama.

Indeed. Everything was coming together now.

Itachi glanced at Naruto, trying to decipher as to what the young Uzumaki was planning on doing now. Mainly, would he now kill Orochimaru, or….

He didn't want to finish that thought.

"So all this time you knew…." muttered Sasuke, catching Orochimaru's attention.

Said snake Sennin chuckled. "I did. As well as many other things. But so what? Every shinobi has his or her secrets. Besides, it wasn't as if it concerned you in the slightest, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked at Orochimaru with narrowed eyes. "And what of the Uchiha Massacre? Did you know as to why Itachi did it?"

Itachi sighed silently as he closed his eyes.

Orochimaru glanced at Itachi momentarily before looking back at Sasuke. "Yes, I did. But if I would have told you that, then you would have never had come to me seeking to get stronger in order to kill Itachi. And I couldn't let that happen."

Naruto for his part looked at Sasuke who was scowling at Orochimaru with a unreadable look on his face. "You're in the same boat as me, Sasuke. We've both been lied to and have been used for the ends of other people. But that's no longer the case…."

Hearing this, Sasuke sighed as he turned away from Orochimaru. "You're right. We were kids and were simply lead by the hand by other people in going down the path that they wanted for us to follow. But not anymore. Now, we have power. And that's the only way that we can break through all of that and forge our own path, doing whatever it is that we want to do."

Naruto nodded. "I couldn't have said it better than that." He then turned his attention to Orochimaru who was watching all of this intently. "What will you do now, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru chuckled as his tongue slithered out for a moment. "I'm not against you, if that's what you're asking. I care for this village any less than you do."

"I highly doubt that," interrupted Naruto with narrowed eyes.

Itachi opened his eyes to look at Naruto. "You're not planning on-"

"Yes, I am," interrupted Naruto.

Itachi's eyes widened at this. "But he was in part at fault for what he did to Uzu! If you're going to forgive him, then why aren't you-"

"I've never said that I've forgiven him," interrupted Naruto again as he stared at Orochimaru who looked right back at him. "I'm simply going to use him."

Orochimaru chuckled at that. "Oh? But you saying that out loud kind of ruins the whole thing, doesn't it?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not at all. After all, I can kill you anytime that I want. I don't know how much you've seen of what I can do through Anko, but you should already know that I'm not the same little kid that you knew of as of three years ago. But this way, you can live longer and see the village that you hate so much be burn to the ground. I'm sure that you can't pass that up. The temptation is just too great, isn't it?"

Orochimaru couldn't help but to laugh as he looked at Naruto. "You….you know me too well, Uzumaki Naruto."

Itachi glanced at Orochimaru. 'He…why is he agreeing to this? Even he must know that his ultimate fate is death. So why?'

Naruto then turned towards the hole in the ceiling that had been created in the fight with Kabuto. "We need to move. It's time to wrap things up once and for all."

Orochimaru looked at Naruto with curiosity. "And what makes you think that the end will happen with the destruction of this village."

Naruto's face turned into a small grin. "Call it…a hunch. But Itachi, you…."

Naruto turned his attention towards Itachi who merely sighed. Sasuke for his part still had his back faced to the group. He already knew what was going to happen, what Itachi would choose. And he'd rather not see it.

Itachi calmly walked until he was right in front of Naruto, looking at him straight in the eyes. "My decision still hasn't changed. If it doesn't happen this way, I will have no choice to fight you, even if I don't want to. I also don't want to see the village again. I've already seen it once, and I'd rather not do it again. Besides, there really isn't anything else for me to add to this little tale. The part that I was meant to play has been met. And now, it's time for you to continue yours."

Naruto simply took hold of Itachi's shoulder, their eyes meeting one final time before Naruto took hold of his soul thanks to the power granted to him by the rinnegan.

Itachi's 'body' fell into the ground, revealing it to have had been an Iwa shinobi.

Naruto then released the soul which caused for it to disappear in a matter of seconds. "Farewell, Uchiha Itachi…."

"Let's go."

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke who was standing right underneath the hole before he jumped upwards, heading right through it and back to the surface.

Naruto turned towards Orochimaru one final time. "Try anything, and you die. It's that simple."

Orochimaru simply nodded before he turned towards the unconscious Anko. "And what of her?"

Seeing as to whom Orochimaru was referring to, Naruto walked up towards Anko before picking up her bridal style. He didn't even turn towards Orochimaru as he disappeared in a dark flash, taking Anko with him.

Orochimaru merely chuckled as his snake tongue slithered fully out from his mouth, turning to follow Sasuke. 'I guess that following Sasuke-kun is the best way right now….'

With that, he jumped upward and through the hole, just like Sasuke had done.

The intent was similar in all. To finally finish what had been begun in Konoha just hours earlier. And that was its destruction.

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><p><strong>"Konoha Senpu!"<strong>

**"Hakkesho Kaiten!"**

Lee grunted in pain as his left foot managed to get caught in the counter-attack by Neji, his once life time rival.

Currently, the two shinobi had taken their fight away from the rooftop that they had originally been and down towards the deserted street below.

Neji sighed as he looked at the kneeling Lee a few feet away in front of him. "Give up, Lee. Your taijutsu is ineffective against my byakugan."

Lee could only frown as he heard this. That was true. Well, for his regular taijutsu at least. And that had been what he had been using up to this point. Hell, it was what he had been using ever since they became a team, period!

But realization began to hit the miniature version of Guy. And that was that in order to beat the person in front of him, he couldn't hold back. If he did, he wouldn't be able to win. His only chance was to use taijutsu that was just simply too fast for even Neji's byakugan to use. And that meant unleashing the Eight Gates of his chakra system.

'I'm sorry, Guy-sensei,' thought Lee as he stood up, looking intently at Neji while he began to open the first gate. 'But I can't afford to lose here!'

Neji narrowed his byakugan activated eyes as he noticed Lee's chakra began to grow bigger and bigger. His eyes then widened when he realized what Lee was up to. 'The Gates….I didn't think that he would go this far…'

**"Shomon: Kai!"**

Seeing Lee's skin beginning to turn red, Neji gritted his teeth in anger before he focused all of his chakra into every one of his chakra points. The winner here would be decided on who had both the bigger stamina and pain resilient.

**"Tomon: Kai!"**

Seeing Lee preparing to attack, Neji released all of the chakra that he had accumulated into his chakra points and held the continuous flow as well, coating him in an invisible thin chakra shield that only those with the byakugan or sharingan would be able to see.

Lee was in front of Neji before said Hyuuga had the chance to see him move. Lee then proceeded to kick Neji straight in the gut, sending said Hyuuga flying high up into the air.

Neji's mouth soon began to leak out blood as Lee appeared above him in the air, wrapping some of his bandages that he wore around his hands around Neji's body. 'He's…!'

**"URA RENGE!"**

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><p>On the rooftop of the Hokage building, Madara watched the battle between Neji and Lee with a careful eye in his sitting position. He even raised an eyebrow in surprise as he saw the last attack.<p>

'That's….a very powerful form of taijutsu all right.'

Even he had to admit to that. When he saw something actually worth praising, he would admit it. It was that simple. And he had to give props to the taijutsu that he just saw.

Still…who would win here today? The genius or the so called 'loser'?

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><p>Lee panted heavily as he landed on the ground, a few feet away from the makeshift crater that he had just created a couple of moments ago. A cloud of dust was currently surrounding the area, but it didn't matter much at the moment.<p>

This was the taijutsu that Lee had trained hard for in order to beat Neji. Did it work? The taijutsu specialist was pretty sure that it had.

And boy, was in a surprise then as Neji was in front of him the next moment, heavily injured but still movable.

"What!"

Neji merely narrowed his eyes as he attacked.

**"Hakke Hyaku Nijuhachi Sho!"**

Lee could only scream in pain as Neji carried out with his palm strikes at each of Lee's chakra points as the speed doubled from that of the last palm strike that he performed.

Lee was then flown backwards once Neji had performed the last palm strike on him right on the left upper section of his chest with him landing on the ground on his back.

Blood began to ooze out from his mouth much like how it had happened with Neji. "J-just how-"

"I was prepared for it," interrupted Neji as he fell to his knees. "We were once teammates, Lee. I already knew how fast you could get once you activated your gates. Even with my byakugan, I wouldn't be able to dodge. So I took it head on by covering my body with a chakra shield by releasing my through every one of my chakra points." Neji then smirked slightly. "I managed to repel much of the damage, but not all of it seems."

_**"Cute, cute, and cute. What a lovely reunion!"**_

Neji's eyes widened as he heard the voice. It sounded just like Naruto! Except that there was something different about it….

Right in between Neji and Lee appeared a third individual, his rinnegan eyes boring straight into Neji's soul, his back turned on Lee for the moment. Not that it mattered. Lee couldn't well do anything right now.

Neji frowned as he took in the newcomer's appearance. He resembled Naruto, having the six birthmarks on his cheeks as well as the voice and the rinnegan. But still….

_**"You put up quite a fight, Neji…."**_

Neji's frown was still present on his face. "Who are you?"

Shin smirked. _**"Call me Shin."**_

'Shin?' repeated Neji in his mind. He didn't know of any 'Shin.'

Shin then turned to look at the down Lee with a bored look on his face. _**"You have outstayed your welcome, Konoha shinobi."**_

Lee could only scream in pain once more as Shin appeared in front of him, placing his foot on top of Lee's stomach where he began to stomp on it.

Neji scowled as he tried to get up but found that he couldn't. Lee had inflicted more damage on him than he had thought. "Leave him out of this."

Shin snorted as he stopped his actions before looking back at Neji. _**"And here I thought that you wanted your revenge on Konoha for your father….am I wrong?"**_

Neji didn't respond but kept his eyes locked straight at Shin.

Shin smirked as he saw this. _**"What? Do you actually care for this one? That would just make you a hypocrite, wouldn't it? And not to mention the fact that you two were just fighting each other a minute ago, you know."**_

"Call it what you want," interrupted Neji. "But it has nothing to do with you."

Shin shrugged. _**"You're right. It doesn't. But that doesn't mean that I can't just do this…."**_

With that, Shin turned to look down at Lee and picked him up by the neck, ripping out his soul much like how he had done with both Suigetsu and Karin before. After this, Shin simply dropped Lee's body to the ground as well as releasing the soul in his hand, making it disappear into nothingness.

Neji could only look in shock at what had just happened.

Shin shook his head as he walked up towards Neji who was still on his knees. _**"I was planning on asking you to join me, but you disappoint me, Neji. I don't even know why Naruto even bothered to include you at all anymore."**_

Neji simply lowered his head to the ground, knowing full well that he was currently defenseless against the person in front of him.

Shin was about to proceed on doing what he had done with the rest until Madara appeared behind him, gunbai in hand and ready to use it do bring down the target in front of him.

Sensing this, Shin disappeared in a dark flash only for him to reappear behind Madara who was already prepared for this.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

Shin scowled as he felt himself be pushed back until he disappeared in another dark flash.

Neji could only look up at Madara in surprise. "What are you-"

"Don't misunderstand me," interrupted Madara with a small shake of his head. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm just simply making some entertainment before I retire from all of this. That is all."

_**"Then look no further, Madara."**_

Madara looked directly in front of him as Shin reappeared again, a smirk on his face as their rinnegan activated eyes met.

'This is what I've been waiting for,' thought Madara.

Shin's thoughts were similar at the moment. Although there was one other thing that he wanted more than this. But this would do for now.

* * *

><p>In the forest surrounding the village of Konoha, one very small man was having troubles at the moment. And that trouble came in the form of four kunoichi and a bijuu. Well, that didn't sound too bad…well sort of.<p>

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

**"Wind Style: Daitoppa!"**

Onoki gritted his teeth in anger as the empowered fireball made its way towards him. In response, he quickly flew towards the side in order to dodge the attack.

Seeing this, the Gobi was quick to ram his head towards that direction, impacting straight with Onoki who brought his arms in front of him again in order to try to halt the Gobi.

Using this to her advantage, Mikoto quickly jumped off the Gobi's head and down towards Onoki with her sword in hand. She was pleasantly surprised, however, as she saw Kushina right behind her.

Onoki looked up above in order to see the incoming kunoichi with both of them armed with their swords.

Onoki scowled as he flew backwards in order to dodge the swipe from Mikoto's sword. Seeing this, Kushina used the Gobi's body as a propeller as she pushed chakra to her feet, the act making her fly towards the floating Onoki who immediately spotted her.

**"Earth Style: Kengan!"**

Kushina frowned as she saw Onoki fly towards her with his right fist covered in hardened rock. She immediately brought her sword forward which was quickly coated in wind thanks to her chakra.

Onoki, thinking that he would win easily, sent his rock enclosed fist towards Kushina which was met by her sword. Onoki screamed in pain as he felt extreme pain in his upper arm which lasted only a moment. After that, he didn't feel anything at all in his right arm! Maybe it had to do with the fact that his right arm had been cut off from the rest of his body….

Realizing this and holding his right shoulder in pain, Onoki could look at the descending Kushina with pure hatred in his eyes before he was suddenly hit from behind by the Gobi's head which sent him flying down towards the forest below.

Having seen all of this, Mito was clearly surprised. "I didn't think that Kushina would have actually aimed for Onoki's arm instead of his fist…."

Fuka looked at her. "And why is that?"

Mito chuckled slightly. "Well, she's not really one for thinking up a strategy and using it in battle. Rather, she just goes in headstrong, nothing else."

"Things change."

Mito didn't even have to look behind her to know that it had been Mikoto who had said that as said Uchiha appeared on top of the Gobi's head again.

Mito sighed. "I suppose so. But now with the old fart out of the way, we can finally advance toward Konoha."

Hearing this, the Gobi was immediately on the move towards Konoha, shaking the ground as well as destroying many trees in the process as he made his way towards the village.

The others could handle everything here.

* * *

><p>Kushina landed gracefully on one of the many tree branches from of one of the many trees present in the forest where the fight between the shinobi and the samurai was currently taking place.<p>

Looking around her, Kushina saw many dead bodies from Kumo, Iwa, Ame and Kiri alike as well as those from the samurai. But it seemed that the fight had gone towards where the Yonbi and Rokubi were currently at which was a good distance behind her.

Not that Kushina had a problem with that. It was actually a good thing for the redhead. And why was that? The answer became apparent as Onoki came limping from further down the forest, his right arm missing. He had lost quite a bit of blood as a result. It was a miracle that he was still alive and still being able to move as well.

Onoki could sigh as he noticed Kushina appearing in front of him. "Come here to finish the job, did you?"

"That's right."

Onoki merely sighed again as he looked at Kushina, his vision becoming quite blurry which didn't surprise him in the slightest. "I never expected to be killed by the wife of the man that I hated the most in this world…."

Kushina simply chuckled as she stopped in front of him. "Ironic how things turn out sometimes, isn't it?"

Onoki brought his only present arm back to his side, releasing his shoulder despite the pain he felt. "That goes the same for you, Uzumaki Kushina. Just how long do you think that you'll be able to live in this life that you seem to be so fond of?"

Kushina's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

Onoki chuckled as he closed his eyes, not that it mattered. He couldn't use any more jutsu. And even if he did try to fly away, he wouldn't make it very far. He had already lost too much blood. He could feel the control over his chakra beginning to waver as well due to this.

"I'm talking about your life with your son. Do you really believe that you two will be together forever? Because that would be a foolish thought. Everything comes to an end at some point. Just like your husband, just like me, and just like Konoha."

Kushina raised her sword as she looked at the now content looking Onoki. It was like he didn't care that he was going to die right now. "Yes, I do believe that. No matter what, nothing will come in between us."

Onoki simply snorted, his eyes still closed as he lowered his head. "You….you're going to suffer a lot if you still keep believing that."

That was the last thing that Onoki ever said in this world as Kushina cut his head from his body, the small body falling to the ground as a result and just simply lying there motionlessly.

Kushina placed her sword at her side as she made to walk towards Konoha to link up with the rest. Mei and the others could finish the battle here. Not to mention the extra reserve from Kiri that was under the command of Yagura. They should be arriving soon at any rate.

But what Onoki had told her lingered with her, however. Was he right? Everything did end at some point, she had to admit to that. So did that mean that the same was going to happen between her and Naruto?

Kushina shook her head to clear her mind from those thoughts. She shouldn't be thinking like that. Especially at this time. There were things that still needed to be done.

With that, she took off towards the trees, destination being Konoha.

* * *

><p>Naruto appeared in another dark flash in the middle of a war zone. Literarily. In front of him stood the massive forms of both Matatabi and Gyuki, rampaging the combined forces of Konoha and Suna. Well, whoever remained that is and was still willing to fight at this point with no present leader.<p>

**"It's nine, yo!"**

Hearing this caused for Matatabi to look down to see Naruto just standing there in the middle of the street.

'What the hell is he doing?' wondered Yugito as she saw this through her bijuu.

Naruto jumped in the air in order to land on top of Gyuki's head, looking at both bijuu. "Yugito, Bee! It's time to get a move on already. We've played around too much."

Matatabi smirked, looking back down towards the angry looking Konoha shinobi as they saw Naruto. **"Let's do this, then."**

Gyuki didn't respond. Instead blue and red chakra began to gather around his mouth as well as Matatabi's while Kurama's chakra began to filter through Naruto.

'This chakra….'

Naruto turned to look towards the direction of the Hokage Mountain, immediately sensing an all too familiar chakra coming from that direction.

Kurama grinned. **"So he's here, is he?"**

Naruto turned his back on the Hokage Mountain. He would worry about that after this. His eyes turned into that of Kurama's in an orange tinge as his whole body was surrounded in Kurama's chakra cloak.

Running forward, Naruto was centered right in the middle between Matatabi and Gyuki as they combined their tailed beast ball for the second time except with Naruto pushing Kurama's chakra into it as well which made it grow even bigger than before.

**"BIJUDAMA!"**

All the shinobi caught in the blast were obliterated in a manner of seconds as well as the earth itself.

Looking down at his handiwork as he landed on top of Gyuki's head again, Naruto could see no survivors. Not only that, but there now was a scorched land all around them thanks to the intensity of the attack. No buildings and life besides themselves now stood.

Well, at least that was the case until one Senju Tsunade appeared in front of them, an enraged look on her face as the diamond on her forehead was activated again.

Naruto had to admit that he was surprised. "Finally recovered, did you? But you're too late. I wonder if there is any other Konoha shinobi left in this village that is still alive. Now the only ones left are the civilians….."

Tsunade gritted her teeth in anger. "You'll not get away with this!"

Naruto shook his head in amusement. "I already have. Your so called 'allies' of Suna are now gone as well. And as for the Tsuchikage-"

"He's dead."

Tsunade's eyes widened as she felt four more individuals appear behind her. And the one that had spoken had been none other than her grandmother, Mito.

"Kushina has already killed him," continued Mito as she look at her granddaughter. "You're all alone, my granddaughter. There is nothing left for you to do but to surrender."

Tsunade calmed herself as she turned around to face her grandmother. She knew for a fact that Naruto wouldn't bother to attack her. He already had the chance of killing her before and hadn't taken it. As she faced her grandmother, Tsunade saw another redhead standing next to her as well as another woman who Tsunade immediately recognized as Uchiha Mikoto. And finally the jinchuriki from Iwa.

Tsunade narrowed eyes as she looked at Mikoto for the moment. "You…."

Mikoto smirked. "Good to see you again, Tsunade. I must say that you haven't aged a day since the last time that I saw you all those years ago….."

'So she was also in this, was she?' thought Tsunade in anger as she looked at Mikoto. 'Just how is she even alive!'

Naruto simply sighed as he turned away from the sight. This had nothing to do with him. Not that he wanted any part of this at any rate. No, he had something more important to do at the moment.

Without a word, Naruto disappeared in a dark flash.

Mikoto, having seen this, frowned. There was something else going on here, it would seem. And she had every intention of knowing what that was.

Mito simply looked at Tsunade with an emotionless look. "Let's finish this, my granddaughter."

Turning to look at Fuka and Han, she said, "Don't interfere. I don't care what you do, but this is between me and her. Is that clear?"

Both Fuka and Han simply nodded.

Noticing that Mikoto wasn't here anymore but not really dwelling on it, Mito turned her attention back to Tsunade. She had won their two previous confrontations. But it seemed that her granddaughter was not planning on holding back here.

The diamond on her own forehead began to glow as well as she prepared herself. If that was the case, she wouldn't hold back either.

It was time to settle this bitter inter-family relation.

* * *

><p>Both Yugito and Bee, having turned back into their humans form, were running towards the direction of the Hokage Mountain under the direction of both Gyuki and Matatabi.<p>

Both bijuu could sense Kurama's chakra, so they knew that Naruto had left towards that direction. It wasn't long, however, for Han to appear behind them, running as well as he began to follow them.

But they didn't comment a single thing about this, however. They sensed that they needed to be there together, all of the jinchuriki united once more just like it had happened in Ame. Why? They really didn't know.

But Gyuki, Matatabi, and Kokuo knew why. With that knowledge in mind, they began to message the remainder of the bijuu fighting outside of Konoha to head to Naruto's location as soon as possible as well.

Up in the sky, the sun was beginning to descend.

* * *

><p>Neji shielded his eyes from the incoming debris as Madara was sent flying into one of the nearby buildings in the area by none other than Shin.<p>

And this was a sight that he could not believe. Uchiha Madara…was losing?

'Just who is this Shin?' That was the only thing that he could ask as he saw the battle rage on.

Shin for his part walked forward towards the building where he had sent Madara flying into, black markings covering his face as well as the rest of his body but were not visible due to the outfit that he was currently wearing which was the same as the one that he had worn in Naruto's mind.

The said markings were from the curse mark that he now possessed thanks to Kabuto. He still didn't know fully what he could do with it, and Madara was the best training dummy in his mind in order to warm up against his real target.

Despite the heavy pain and blood present on his body, Madara currently had a smirk on his face as he appeared from the hole in the building that he had created against his will mere moments ago.

Seeing this caused for Shin to frown. _**"What the hell are you so cocky about?"**_

But Madara didn't respond. Instead he brought his gunbai forward, intent on continuing on fighting. Or that's what he appeared to be doing at least.

Shin narrowed his eyes as he looked at Madara, all the fun that he had felt up to this point now gone. He disappeared in a dark flash in an instant, reappearing right in front of Madara less than a second after. But Madara had already been prepared for this as shown by his act of placing his gunbai in between him and Shin.

But this act proved to be fruitless, however, as Shin broke straight through Madara's favorite weapon, breaking it in half with his fist that was surrounded by pure black energy.

Madara was sent flying back once again as Shin continued on with his attack, now having even more of a reason to destroy Madara. And that was to remove the smirk that was still plastered on his face despite the fact that he was sent flying back into the same building for a second time.

Shin could only growl at this. Just what was the damn Uchiha smirking for! It was completely idiotic!

Finally coming to realize why Madara was doing this, Neji simply let out a grin appear on his face as well as a laugh which immediately caught Shin's attention.

Shin scowled at the still kneeling Hyuuga in front of him. _**"Just why the hell are you laughing now!?"**_

Neji stopped laughing as he looked straight at Shin, no fear present as he let out a dark smirk appear on his face. "You still don't get it, do you? It looks like you aren't as clever as you thought you were, 'Shin'!"

Shin growled at this. _**"Do you even know who I am!"**_

Neji shrugged if barely. "No, I don't. And I really don't care either way. Not at this point at least…."

Having heard enough and having reached his limit as well, Shin growled again as he appeared in front of the defenseless Hyuuga in a dark flash, his right hand turned fist surrounded in a dark energy as he sent his fist straight through Neji's heart, piercing it as well as destroying it in less than a second.

Despite this, however, Neji's face remained in the dark smirk. He had saw what Naruto had promised him as well as learned the true nature of the village of Konoha and the shinobi world as a whole. And he was sure that Naruto would carry out with his other promise. Everything that Naruto had promised him the now silver haired jinchuriki had done. And Neji was content with that. He had followed through with what he believed in. Was it wrong? He didn't really care, even if he was called a bastard or a traitor for what he had done. He had finally felt free for the first time in his life. To follow through in something that he truly believed in...that was enough for Neji.

His Konoha headband fell to the ground next to him as Shin retracted his fist, Neji's now lifeless body falling to the ground on its back. The cursed seal on his forehead being visible for a few moments before it disappeared, never to appear on his forehead ever again.

This was the sight that Fu arrived to after having fought and defeated Tenten before heading over here to see what was happening due to the fact that she had felt an extremely dark chakra present in the atmosphere.

She could only watch with wide eyes as she gazed at Neji's lifeless body on the ground as she landed on the now extremely and almost destroyed street.

"Neji…i-it can't be…."

Chomei couldn't only sigh as he saw this through Fu.

Shin turned his attention on Fu as he shook his hand that he had used to destroyed Neji's heart. _**"So you've finally arrived, have you, Fu? Perfect…."**_

Fu narrowed her eyes at the person in front of her, Chomei's chakra beginning to surround her whole body as she shook in barely restrained anger. "You…."

"Don't worry about anything, Nanabi jinchuriki."

Both Fu and Shin looked at the down Madara that was still in the building, his smirk still present on his face as parts of his chest were in the process of regenerating. "The Hyuuga died in peace."

Shin frowned as he heard this. _**"It looks like you're also delusional, Madara. You-"**_

"You'll be dead soon enough," interrupted Madara as he closed his eyes. "I've already seen what I have to. Nothing more is needed. My role is at an end."

Shin was about to retort before he suddenly jumped high into the air in order to dodge the incoming blade that would have sure enough taken his head off if he hadn't done so.

Seeing this, Madara smirked one final time before his soul started to leave from the body that he currently inhabited. He had already gotten what he wanted. He had accomplished what he wanted. He had seen what he wanted. At last, just like Neji, he was at peace as well. With that, he finally left the land of the living, exposing the real individual who had been used as the sacrifice.

Shin grinned as he landed on the rooftop of the building that he had sent Madara flying into, gazing at the individual that he had been waiting for.

_**"So you're finally here, Naruto…."**_

Fu for her part turned her eyes to Naruto's back as he faced Shin, the Seikatsugakari currently in his shoulders.

"Naruto…."

**'So it's finally going to happen,'** thought Chomei as he watched everything intently.

Naruto looked at Neji's body for a moment before turning his full attention back to Shin, having already seen Neji's smirk on his face despite the fact that he was already dead.

'Neji…you were of a great help.'

Kurama merely stayed silent.

Both Naruto and Shin locked eyes. It was time to finish this. To bring things into their conclusion.

Both Naruto and Shin could agree to that at least.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Well, another chapter now finally brought to its end. What can I say about it….I'm content with it. Even if some of you might not like it, I as the author feel pretty good about it.**

**Life is currently very hectic for me right now, too. Which was a surprise. I mean in the past few weeks, I wasn't doing anything really. And then all of that changes in less than a day….meh, I'm not complaining though.**

**And I'm going to say that, no, I don't have any of these documents save, well the older ones at least. Quite a few of you asked me that, so there it is. I did have all of them saved at one point, but….long story short, they were deleted. I'd rather not go into details as to how exactly that happened. I don't even want to remember it….**

**Well, that's it for me. Once again, reviewing is welcomed with a big smile!….or maybe not. Who knows?**

**Till next time.**


	58. Everything has its End

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<br>**_**"Shin…"**_**-** **Shin**  
><em>"Hmm..."<em>**- Flashback/Memory**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 57:<br>Everything has its End**

Mikoto had a twinkle of playfulness present in her dark black eyes as she ran through the deserted streets of the once proud village of Konoha, many buildings burning around her with some already having been burned to the ground. And why should this sight bring playfulness to her eyes? Well….that was a stupid question. Everyone knew the answer to that at this point.

'At last, the sight that I have waited years in order to see….is finally here!'

Really, how much sweeter did something that you extremely wanted feel after you have waited and prepared for it for many, many years? A lot more sweeter than normal, all right. Mikoto could attest to that herself.

But she would enjoy the sight even more later after everything had been set and done. Mainly, when everyone in Konoha was truly dead and gone forever. Most, if not all, of the shinobi had been taken care of. That only left the civilians. And Mikoto already knew where they would be. Mainly, in the evacuation tunnels that ran through the underground of Konoha and into the caves within the Hokage Mountain.

She would worry about that later, though. First, she needed to find Naruto. Whatever was happening right now….it was centered around him. She knew that much at least. But where would he be right now….?

Mikoto sighed. 'If only Zetsu were here, I could-'

"Yo."

Speak of the devil.

Mikoto grinned slightly as White Zetsu appeared beside her, running alongside her. Luck was on her side right, it would seem.

Mikoto glanced at the grinning White Zetsu. "Well, it's good that you're here, even if you're not the original. I need for you to tell me where Naruto is right now."

The White Zetsu clone was silent for a few moments, his grin disappearing before he responded, "Before that, there's something that you need to know…."

Hearing this, Mikoto stopped her running which also caused for White Zetsu to halt. Turning to face him, she crossed her arms under her bust. "What is it? And make it quick. We don't have too much time to-"

"Obito is dead."

Mikoto's eyes were suddenly shadowed by her hair when those words hit her ears. "What?"

Now White Zetsu might not be the sharpest kunai around. Let's not even say where that would leave his clones….but even he knew that the current tone in the female Uchiha's voice when she said that single word was not a good thing for his health, or well…his life, period. Damn. Why the hell did he have to get chosen to tell Mikoto this? It just wasn't fair! He had feelings too!

Hearing no answer from the clone in front of her, Mikoto took a single step forward, her eyes becoming visible and showing her sharingan which was currently spinning wildly in what appeared to be anger. "Answer me."

White Zetsu felt a lump on his throat which he could not swallow, taking a step back. "O-obito is dead," he repeated for a second time.

A second step forward. "How?"

A second step back. "We don't know. The last thing we saw was him and Tobi going off to fight somewhere else."

Another step forward. "Then how do you know he's dead?"

Another step back. "The cells that Madara implanted in him….they're no longer alive which can only mean that-"

Whatever else the clone was going to say was brought to an abrupt halt as he was sliced in half as well as burned by Mikoto who had appeared in front of him and had brought out her sword, an emotionless look currently present on her face.

Gripping the sword that she currently held in her hand more tightly, Mikoto closed her eyes tightly as she fought back the tears that were threatening to come out.

'Obito…you idiot! Just what were you thinking!'

After a few moments of trying to take back control of her emotions, Mikoto finally realized that she had just taken out the one person, or rather being, that could tell her what she wanted to know. Well…..nothing she could do about it now.

Looking around one more time, Mikoto took off running again, intent on looking for Naruto the old fashion way.

But what the clone had told her before she had killed him still remained with Mikoto as she continued to run through the deserted streets. Never would she have had guessed that Obito would have died. Not only that, but to have been taken out by Tobi of all people….that struck Mikoto hard. She could already guess as to how Tobi was here in the first place after she herself had killed him in Ame. And that 'how' couldn't be none other than Kabuto. And well, the Edo Tensei as well.

'You better pray that you're not still in the land of the living, Tobi, or I'll make you wish that you weren't….' And that rang double for Kabuto. The whole reason Tobi was even here again was because of him.

From that thought alone, anyone could tell that the last remaining female Uchiha was not in a good mood right now.

She had always believed that Obito was the person that she could always rely on, despite their rather odd relationship. But that came of no surprise. They had known each other for years and had become accustomed to each other's company as well as the quirks that came along with that company.

Thinking of all of this, Mikoto couldn't help but remember the day when she had finally met Obito for the first time after she had thought that he had died.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback: START!<strong>

_A rather nervous looking Mikoto could be seen slowly walking through a dark corridor of one of the many hidden Uchiha hideouts in the Land of Fire. Said Uchiha was wearing her simply 'housewife attire' that her husband, Fugaku, seemed to had had been rather fond of._

_Of course, the now dead clan head had always preferred for her to have just simply act like the housewife that she had become after she had gotten married to him. No more could she be Uchiha Mikoto, the proud jonin that she had always been before her marriage. Her best friend Kushina had always complained about that to her every time that they had gotten together to catch up. Thinking of the redhead brought a sad smile on the woman. For her to have had died at such a young age….and not to mention the fact that she had left her newborn son all alone in the harsh world of the shinobi. It was just too sad._

_Of course she had tried to provide the now eight year old boy with as much as possible that she could without Fugaku finding out about it, but in all reality it wasn't much. She could have had done better. If only she hadn't let her husband dictate her life! Just like Kushina had always told her. If only…._

_'But I can't change the past,' thought Mikoto in regret before she started to become determined. 'I can still change the future, however. I promise you this, Kushina: I will get your son out of that hellhole someday. One away or another. Someday….'_

_For now, though, she needed to focus on other things. Like what was currently happening._

_Mikoto stopped in front of a doorway, reading herself for whomever was waiting for her on the other side. Black Zetsu hadn't really been specific on that matter. All he had told her was to come to this location after she had gotten out of Konoha._

_Hesitating for just a moment longer, Mikoto finally placed her hand on the doorknob before she turned it, opening the door and walking into the room and closing the door behind her._

_Looking around, Mikoto found herself in what appeared to be more like an underground cave, not really a room which she had been expecting. The cave-looking room was medium sized, with the only source of light being torches that were hanging off the walls all around the cave._

_After a couple of minutes of just standing there and waiting for something to happen, Mikoto finally walked forward and further into the cave, stopping until she was standing right in the middle of the cave. Looking around again, Mikoto tried to see if anyone else was present. But she couldn't see anyone. Hell, she couldn't sense anyone either. But if she used her sharingan, then maybe she could-_

_"What are you doing here?"_

_Mikoto was on the move the instant that the first word was uttered right behind, jumping back to put some distance between her and whoever else was in here with her sharingan activated as well._

_As she landed and came to a stop, Mikoto finally noticed the person that had spoken a few moments earlier, standing right where she had been. The person was wearing what appeared to be a simple looking black cloak which covered his body entirely. Mikoto already knew the person was a male, if the voice she had heard had been any indication. He sounded pretty young too…._

_"What are you doing here?" the person asked again._

_Mikoto weighed her options. If she didn't tell him who she was, they would simply fight it out. And she wasn't sure how she would fare either. It had been years since she had been in actual combat. Her skills were no doubt rusty. But if she did tell him who she was, there was still the chance that they would fight. There was the small chance, however, of this not happening since, well she had been told to come here. Unless it was all just simply a trap._

_Finally deciding to go with the latter, Mikoto answered, "I'm Uchiha Mikoto. I, umm, I was told to come here by Black Zetsu."_

_The male in front of her didn't respond. Instead, he simply took off the hood of the cloak that he currently wore that had been hiding his face, revealing the male to be a man who appeared to be in his early twenties underneath the hood._

_But Mikoto quickly recognized who the young man in front of her was. How could she not? She had practically raised him since even his own parents had been too ashamed of him for bringing great 'misfortune' to the Uchiha name. Really, that was just pathetic in her opinion._

_Before the man could stop her, Mikoto was quickly in front of him, wrapping her arms around him in order to engulf him in a hug. "Obito! Just how are you even here!"_

_The twenty something Obito simply chuckled sheepishly as he brought one of his hands to the back of his head, scratching it in an embarrassed manner. "It's a long story, Mikoto…."_

_Bringing her head back in order to look at Obito straight in the eyes, Mikoto could see that something had happened to Obito. He looked….more mature in a sense. And she wasn't talk about the fact that he was now in his twenties. No, it was more like he understood what was going on. He no longer possessed that innocence that he had had the last time that she had seen him all those years ago._

_**"It seems that you two have met."**_

_Both Uchiha members looked to the side to see Black Zetsu appearing from the ground, looking at both of them with his single eye as he stood in between them, having emerged completely from the ground._

_Obito looked at Zetsu with a small grin on his face. "It seems that all went according to plan then…."_

_Black Zetsu nodded. __**"It did. Konoha doesn't suspect a thing…."**_

_Taking a few steps back from Obito, Mikoto looked at the other two individuals in the room with a questioning look. "Just what exactly is going on here?"_

_Black Zetsu focused his complete attention on her. __**"Like I've told you, you have been chosen, Mikoto. You've been chosen by-"**_

_"Uchiha Madara," finished Obito, making Mikoto look at him. "He chose you to lead the Uchiha to the glory that we rightly deserve." Of course that was a lie, but Obito wasn't going to tell her the complete truth either. Those had been his instructions, after all._

_Mikoto looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Just what do you mean by that?"_

_Obito simply sighed slightly, the act making him look even older than that of what he actually was. "You should already know what I mean, Mikoto. The Uchiha have become nothing more than dogs for the Senju and their followers. We've been turned into nothing more than worthless pieces of trash. We are nothing compared to what what the Uchiha clan had once been in the past. Now, we are simply tools for Konoha. That's why the rebellion was planned for. In order to change that. But it was already too late for that. The village saw right through that. Add to the fact that they used your own son for getting rid of us….that's the biggest blow here."_

_Mikoto closed her eyes as she heard this. Of course she already knew all of this to be true. That was why she had agreed to follow Zetsu in the first place. Although she still wasn't convinced that Madara was behind all of this. Just how could he be! Add to the fact that as to how even Obito himself was even here in the first place as well._

_**"It seems that you have many questions that you want answered."**_

_Mikoto glanced at Black Zetsu, seeing him study her very intently with his single eye. No doubt he was trying to see if she would follow them or not._

_Mikoto crossed her arms under her chest. "Of course I do. You weren't very informative after all."_

_"Your questions will be answered," stated Obito as he took a step forward. "But first, you have to agree that you will follow us in what Madara planned for you to do."_

_Mikoto looked at Obito with narrowed eyes. "Obito….just what happened to you?"_

_Obito sighed for a second time as he turned his back towards Mikoto. "I grew up. That's all. The world that we're currently living in….I see no hope for it. We, as humans, have created a shinobi world that is ruled by hatred. It continues to spread more and more. And we do nothing to stop it. In fact, we even encourage it. That's just too sad in my mind."_

_Mikoto's eyes were wide in shock as she looked at Obito's back. "Just what are you-"_

_"Don't worry," interrupted Obito as he turned his head to look at her, a small smile on his face, "I'm not going to do anything insane, if that's what you were thinking. That's just how I feel is all. Besides, it's not my job to do it after all," he finished with a mutter which Mikoto didn't hear._

_"Is that why you're doing this?" asked Mikoto._

_Obito looked up towards the top of the cave. "That's something that I don't even know myself yet. If I could guess, though, I suppose that it has something to do with seeing the end of the current shinobi world that we're currently living in."_

_Now that made Mikoto even more confused. "Just what do you mean?"_

_Obito didn't respond. Instead, he turned to face her again, extending his arm forward towards her. "If you really want to know, then come with us. You'll see what I mean as well as having the chance to take your revenge on Konoha."_

_Mikoto looked at Obito's extended arm for a moment before looking back at him, taking a hold of his arm with hers which indicated that she was in._

_Black Zetsu merely watched all of this with extreme curiosity. __**'I'm starting to see why Madara chose you, Obito…..'**_

_Obito grinned as he saw Mikoto's confirmation._

_This had been the day of the beginning of their new relationship. The day when they had become partners. The day when they had become a family again. The day when they became like an older sister and her younger brother._

_The duo, together for many years to come…._

**Flashback: END!**

* * *

><p>The sudden memory caused for a single tear to break through Mikoto's resistance which made her scowl. She couldn't be weak. Not right now. Not when she was so close. Now it just wasn't about her or her goal. It was also about Obito.<p>

This is what he had wanted, despite the fact that he himself might not have known that. And she would do everything in her power to succeed.

Mikoto suddenly looked up as two blurs flew right past her, heading towards what appeared to be the direction of where the Hokage building was.

And due to the fact that she still had her sharingan activated, Mikoto saw exactly who the two blurs were exactly. One of them, she didn't mind. The other, however….

Gripping the handle of her sword more tightly than before, Mikoto took off once more, following the two blurs.

* * *

><p>Orochimaru was currently one happy man. Well, his sexuality could be called in question at this point. Because, well, he had had a woman's body in the past. But that was beside the point right now.<p>

And just why was he happy you might ask? Well, the answer was simple…..he had lied. Not only that, but he had lied and gotten away with it. The second part was the key one here. He already knew of what Danzo had truly wanted when he had initiated his plan of destroying Uzu. Well, besides Kushina that is. Or more precisely, the Kyuubi. The other thing that Danzo had wanted was the fuinjutsu known only to the clan head of the Uzumaki clan. Orochimaru himself had already known where it was thanks to Kenji. The man had been the clan head's closest friend, after all. But once he had found out what exactly the fuinjutsu was, Orochimaru had decided to not mess with it. He had already played with death far enough for his tastes. Making a deal with the Shinigami himself was the last thing that Orochimaru would do. Not after messing so much with the Edo Tensei, that is. So he had simply sealed the entrance back again, completely forgetting and leaving that part of his life behind him. At least Danzo hadn't been able to acquire the fuinjutsu. Who knew what he would have done if he had done so...

Orochimaru's tongue slithered out from his mouth as he followed behind Sasuke, jumping from rooftop to rooftop of whatever buildings remained in the village. Where exactly were they going? He didn't know. But it didn't matter. No, the only thing, or rather person, that he cared about was currently in front of him, clearly opened for an attack.

Orochimaru didn't have the slightest bit of interest of what was currently happening. That much had been true. But he did care about the effects that would occur afterwards because of what was currently taking place here. Mainly the fact that the Elemental Nations would be in a state of chaos from the lack of a balance of power that it had possessed before one Uzumaki Naruto had started all of this.

And who would be there to fill the void? Orochimaru himself. But before that could take place, however, he still needed to acquire Sasuke's body so that he could finally possess the legendary sharingan all to himself. And Itachi wasn't around to interfere this time either.

With that thought in mind, Orochimaru made his decision.

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise as a white snake wrapped itself tightly around him in midair, quickly biting the left side of his neck.

Sasuke could only scream in pain as he roughly landed in the middle of one of the streets on his side, the snake slithering and crawling back to its master.

Holding his neck in pain, Sasuke looked at the approaching Orochimaru in anger. "Just what are you doing?"

Orochimaru chuckled as he looked at the downed Sasuke. "You and Naruto-kun may have gotten stronger, but it seems that you two still have much to learn of the shinobi world, Sasuke-kun. You let your guard down around me, a shinobi known most for his traitorous nature. And not to mention the fact that Naruto-kun even left me alive after I myself confessed to have had played a major role in the destruction of his clan. Really, it's like all he does is point his hatred straight towards this village, forgetting about all the other players. That's just simply childish."

**"My, you seem to think high mighty of yourself."**

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed as all around him, the dragon summons from Naruto landed, forming a complete circle around him.

Orochimaru scowled. "What is this?"

Moukaryuu smirked. **"You really didn't believe that Naruto would trust you that easily, did you? But it looks like you did. He said it so himself: try anything, and you die. And he was waiting for you to try something which you just did. The only reason that he even left you alive was for you to bask in your moment of accomplishment before he stabbed you in the back. It's the same with the other villages. He hasn't forgotten about them. But in this set up, each village is destroyed in the most ironic way. Konoha being destroyed by the same villages that it allowed to destroy Uzu. And the other villages being destroyed after thinking that they had been victorious by an Uzumaki, making the victory all those years ago meaningless."**

Orochimaru simply scowled again. "How do you know this?"

**"Easy. Naruto told me so himself. As well as to keep an eye on you when he delivered one of his comrades to us for safekeeping in our homeland."**

'Anko,' thought Orochimaru, realizing who the 'comrade' was. But he hadn't even sensed the animal summonings all around him! How was that even possible?

Sensing this, Moukaryuu answered, **"It's one of our many abilities. After we had caused our fair share of damage to this village, we simply camouflaged ourselves, making us simply invisible. And since we don't possess chakra, even with the byakugan or sharingan, you still wouldn't be able to see us. Our camouflage also blocks out our scents as well. Just how do you think that we've managed to stay hidden so far for so many years? Even we want to stretch out our wings in the human world at some periods of time."**

Orochimaru frowned at the explanation. That was a handy ability all right. It even surpassed that of the Nidaime Tsuchikage. It seemed that he had been careless. Much like with everyone else, he had once again underestimated Naruto.

**"Amaterasu!"**

Orochimaru quickly jumped back as the black flames flared to life on the spot that he had been in. This was due to none other than a kneeling Sasuke, still holding his neck in pain as he tried to burn Orochimaru alive with eternal mangekyo. Whatever the snake had injected him with, it was clearly messing with his chakra as he couldn't very well control the black flames as he normally would have.

Seeing this, Moukaryuu blew air through both of his nostrils, almost sending Sasuke flying as the fire dragon was currently standing behind him. Well, a good distance behind him, but it showed just how big the fire dragon was. **"Do not interfere, Uchiha. He is our target. We will deal with him."**

As he landed, Orochimaru couldn't help but to frown once more as he heard this. Even he didn't think that he could handle all of the dragons by himself. A retreat was in order then.

But before anything else could take place, another individual made her presence known. And that individual was none other than Mikoto.

Quickly appearing right beside her remaining son, Mikoto looked at Orochimaru with narrowed eyes, her sharingan amplifying the effect of this act. "Orochimaru….it's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Orochimaru for his part merely looked at the woman in confusion. He didn't know who she was-

Quickly taking in her facial features and seeing the resemblance of Sasuke within them, realization hit him which made him chuckle. "Uchiha Mikoto….it's truly been a long time. I didn't really expect to meet you here of all places for I thought that Itachi had killed you….it seems I was wrong."

Not responding this, Mikoto turned to look at Moukaryuu. "Dragon-san….please, I ask of you if you would please allow for me to kill the snake in front us by own two hands."

Now Moukaryuu was greatly surprised at this. An Uchiha with actual manners….surprise of the century. Okay, maybe not, but it was up there all right.

Moukaryuu merely nodded, showing his acceptance of Mikoto's request. He could tell that there was somewhat of a personal stake happening here, and he could accept that.

Orochimaru weighed his options in front of him. For one, he could simply try to escape and not fight Mikoto at all. But if he did that, no doubt that the summonings around him would chase him down. He wasn't entirely sure how good their tracking skills were, but he wasn't going to risk it. And then Mikoto would simply follow behind, with him eventually fighting her in the end.

Or he could stay and kill the female Uchiha in front of him and try to find an opening for him to find a way to successfully escape. And with this, Sasuke would try to chase him down in order to avenge his mother in which he would simply fight the young Uchiha in his own terms which would successfully give him the greater advantage of capturing Sasuke alive and finally obtain the sharingan. But the dragons….

Either way, he was kind of screwed. But with the latter, the circumstances seemed more favorable. With that in mind, Orochimaru made his decision.

Mikoto brought her sword forward, pointing it straight at Orochimaru before it was consumed in flames. "I'm not exactly sure as to how exactly you're even here right now, Orochimaru, but I'm not a woman that passes up a golden opportunity when it presents itself to me. I take advantage of it."

Orochimaru for his part gave Mikoto a once over, almost as if she was some sort of foreign creature that fascinated him. "I can say the same to you, Uchiha Mikoto. As far as the world was concerned, you were dead. And yet, you're here today. Alive and well. Interesting how what you think of as reality is nothing more than a lie."

Mikoto shrugged. "That's the shinobi world for you. Lies and deceit are our specialty. You of all people should know that, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Pity that I must kill you. You could have had been of great use to me in the future."

Mikoto t'ched. "That sounds like something Danzo would say. I guess I can take out my frustration on you since he's not here with us anymore. It will still give me that same warm feeling in my heart as I do so."

Sasuke looked towards his mother, still holding his neck in pain. As of right now, he was of no use. And just because he had let down his guard for a single moment! He should have known better. And now, he had paid the price.

Orochimaru simply stared at Mikoto for a single moment before he jumped back, landing on the ground on his stomach as well as opening his mouth as wide as possible which resulted in the appearance of perhaps millions of snakes which quickly began to crawl out of his mouth and towards Mikoto.

Mikoto for her part raised her sword in the air before striking it down on the ground, blade piercing straight through the ground. This act resulted in a large torrent of fire bursting into life, quickly heading to intercept the incoming snakes.

The snakes and the fire impacted with each other the next moment. In the matter of the next few seconds, all of the snakes were quickly becoming burned to a crisp by the seemingly never ending torrent of flames.

While still on the ground, Orochimaru couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight. 'Her mastery over the fire style…is truly extraordinary! I can see where Sasuke-kun gets his skill from.' Of course he was referring to Sasuke's mastery over the black flames, taking it to a level that surpassed even Itachi's own mastery over the flames. 'It's a shame that I'm not going to get the chance to possess her body. She's really a good candidate….'

A shame indeed.

Orochimaru quickly stood up as Mikoto appeared within the flames, the sword that was surrounded in fire still in hand as she literately flew straight at the snake Sennin.

Seeing this, Orochimaru quickly retreated to the side, his feet changing to that of a snake's body so that he could move easier and faster.

Mikoto could only scowl as she saw this, her sharingan spinning to life once again as she stopped at the spot where Orochimaru had been. The flames from before had died off, already having had had completed their task of burning the snakes to a crisp.

Looking around, Orochimaru frowned slightly as he stopped his movements on the other side of the formed circle created by the dragons with the kneeling Sasuke still present in the middle. 'There's not much room here….and I don't think that these dragons are going to give us any more for that matter….'

Mikoto struck her sword down on the ground again, quickly forming a set of handseals as well as inhaling as deeply as she possibly could. Seeing this, Sasuke quickly ducked to the side in an uncontrolled manner. He still didn't have full control of his body yet. Not even the antibodies that he possessed could fight back whatever it was that Orochimaru had injected him with. Well, not as fast as normally that was.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

Orochimaru simply stared at the incoming fireball before it consumed him entirely. Or that's what it appeared to happen at least.

Mikoto quickly focused her sharingan on this, not believing for a single moment that Orochimaru had been taken out by something as simple as that. And her prediction turned to be right as Orochimaru was no where in sight after the fireball had died off.

Quickly seeing what had happened, Mikoto reacted fast, jumping high into the air with her sword in hand. This action was due to Orochimaru appearing right beneath where she had been from right under the ground, multiple of snakes coming out from both of his sleeves.

'So, she saw that I used the Moguragakure no jutsu with her sharingan, did she?' thought Orochimaru as his tongue slithered out from his mouth. 'Marvelous….'

Mikoto looked straight at Orochimaru, throwing her once more flamed sword straight towards him at a fast speed.

Orochimaru was quick on the defense, opening his mouth wide open as another snake came out of his mouth. This one, however, was three times the size from the previous ones. Due to this, the snake did its job at protecting him by intercepting Mikoto's thrown sword with its opened mouth. Orochimaru quickly used his own personal substitution jutsu to escape alive from the flames that quickly burned the whole snake and was coming after him next.

Mikoto was quickly on top of him, having have had recovered her sword as well which she now used to try to cut him down. And succeeded as well as she cut the snake Sennin in half with a clean slice, his upper body flying to one side while the lower part fell to the ground.

Or this would have happened were it not for a multitude of snakes that came out from both halves, quickly meeting with each other and rejoining Orochimaru' body back into one.

Now this came as a surprise to Mikoto which didn't happen very often. Well this was true before she met Naruto, that is. But now wasn't the time for that.

Using their close distance to their advantage, Orochimaru was quick on the offensive. This was shown by his rushing forward towards Mikoto at a quick pace, quickly grabbing a hold of Mikoto's throat.

Orochimaru smirked at the angry looking Mikoto in his grasp. "Seems that this it, Mikoto."

Mikoto then smirked, which surprised Orochimaru greatly. "No, now it's time for you to die once and for all, Orochimaru."

Bringing her sword that Orochimaru had forgotten about forward, Mikoto stabbed the snake Sennin right at where his heart should have been, his whole body being engulfed in flames from Mikoto's sword that she had channeled her chakra through.

Orochimaru screamed in intense pain as he released Mikoto, but not before said Uchiha having had been injured by her own attack due to her close proximity of the attack as well as Orochimaru's hold on her.

As she fell to the ground on one knee, there were slight burn marks on her face and arms but the most serious one being the one around her neck due to Orochimaru having had had a hold of her.

Orochimaru's screams stopped as he used his substitution jutsu for a second time, lest he be burned alive.

Mikoto couldn't help but to scowl as she saw this. 'Damn persistent bastard….'

Orochimaru chuckled as he brought one of his hands to face after having completed his substitution jutsu. "You really are good, Mikoto. Even without having the mangekyo, you're giving me quite a fight. You're Itachi's mother, all right."

Mikoto tilted her head as she stood up. "I don't know what to say really. Was that a compliment? Because it sure as hell didn't feel like one to me. It just made me feel all creepy and disgusted inside."

Orochimaru's amusement didn't fade at this, however. In fact, he appeared to become even more amused if anything!

Bringing his hand back to his side, Orochimaru said, "It's amusing to watch you struggle. No matter what, I'm going to win here."

Mikoto smirked. "Even if you do win, our little dragon pals here are just going to just kill you afterwards." Mikoto tilted her head behind him and all around her, indicating towards the watching summonings.

Orochimaru frowned slightly at the reminder. Yes, that was the big problem here. That was the whole reason that he was even fighting at the moment. If it weren't for them, he would be-

**"Enton: Susanoo Kagutsuchi!"**

Orochimaru looked down at his chest to see a blade made entirely of the black flames of Amaterasu sticking out.

Looking behind him, Orochimaru saw a panting and kneeling Sasuke who had his Susanoo activated if barely. It seemed that keeping it active as well as managing to control the black flames was taking a heavy toll on him, if his heavy panting was any indication.

Orochimaru frowned as his body began to be entirely burned by the black flames. "You…."

Sasuke smirked slightly. "I'm not out completely, you bastard. You should know that I have build up an immunity to your poisons thanks to you. But it seems that you've forgotten that, haven't you?"

Orochimaru scowled before opening his mouth, his real body coming out and abandoning the one that he had been using up to this point as said body fell to the ground, continuing on being burned by the black flames.

Sasuke frowned at this as his Susanoo disappeared. "Now there is something that I didn't want to see again…."

Mikoto for her part brought her sword forward again, running straight towards Orochimaru despite the fact that she was greatly surprised at seeing Orochimaru's real body.

The white snakes that made up Orochimaru's real body sprang to life, quickly shooting forward in order to intercept the approaching Mikoto.

In response, Mikoto raised her sword before she began to cut down the incoming snakes, all the while continuing on her way towards Orochimaru.

Said individual didn't care about this in the slightest at the moment, however. Instead, he focused on Sasuke. It was now or never. Why wait until later when he could simply take Sasuke's body now? And with the eternal mangekyo at his disposal, Orochimaru was sure that he could find a way to deal with Naruto's dragon summons.

Reaching this conclusion, Orochimaru quickly slithered his way towards Sasuke who was still not at his one hundred percent yet. The white snakes on his body continued to stall Mikoto who was beginning to get frustrated.

"SASUKE!"

Said Uchiha gritted his teeth in anger as Orochimaru lunged at him, using whatever strength he had to summon his Susanoo ribcage. He couldn't do anymore than that right now. But it proved to be effective enough as Orochimaru slammed into the protective barrier but wasn't able to penetrate it.

**"Kenjutsu: Kassai Dansu!"**

Behind Orochimaru, Mikoto jumped into the air, quickly spinning which caused for the flames on her sword to engulf around her which took the form of a small tornado. Said tornado quickly burned anything in its path as it descended down to the ground towards Orochimaru.

Orochimaru screamed in pain once more because of this before a purple-ish gas began to appear around the area, quickly surrounding the forms of the three shinobi.

As the fire based tornado disappeared around her, Mikoto couldn't help but to frown as she saw the gas all around her. "What is this?"

Already knowing what it was, Sasuke screamed, "Don't inhale it! It's very poisonous!"

But it was too late for that. Mikoto quickly fell to her knees because of this as the reformed snake body of Orochimaru appeared above her. "It's over, Mikoto!"

Mikoto could only scowl as she felt the movement of her body leave her, much like with Sasuke. Now this was something that she really wasn't expecting. But who would! No one had seen Orochimaru's real body before and had lived to tell the tale. Well except for both Sasuke and Kabuto, with the latter now being dead.

Seeing all of this, Moukaryuu was prepared to step in. These were his summoner's allies, after all. And while he might not be too fond of the Uchiha clan, he still had values that he followed strictly.

But Mikoto beat him to it. "Dragon-san! Do whatever you have to. Don't hold back because of us."

Understanding began to hit Moukaryuu as he realized what Mikoto was implying which confused him greatly.

Also understanding, Sasuke smirked to himself as he deactivated his Susanoo ribcage. It didn't matter to him at any rate. He had already accomplished his goal. And while not being finished yet, he knew that his old teammate would do it for him.

Orochimaru for his part couldn't help but to look all around him in what appeared to be anxiety. Not only that, but he couldn't use anymore jutsu anymore. Not that he had a lot in his current arsenal either since his old sensei took his arms away from him those three years ago. There wasn't enough time to complete the ritual to take possession of Sasuke's body either. His only remaining option was to retreat which was a fancy way of saying that he needed to get the hell out of here.

But before he could try anything, Orochimaru screamed in more pain as the energy sword from Sasuke's Susanoo in its basic form pierced him right in the middle of his body, keeping him tightly rooted on the spot.

Looking at Sasuke, Mikoto began to try reasoning with him, "What are you doing? You can still get out of here and live! You-"

"It won't be worth it," interrupted Sasuke with a shake of his head. "I won't have anyone here anymore. Not you, not Itachi. My purpose will also be gone. All of this," Sasuke looked all around him, "this was it. It was what I had been waiting to see. For what they did to us. I don't care if it's not justified. This is what I wanted. But now, I want to be with you, kaa-san. With Itachi. Heh, maybe we will all see each other in the afterlife. Who knows?" he finished with a small smirk.

Mikoto simply lowered her head, not willing to show the world the tears that she could no longer hold back. Sasuke was right. Perhaps that was the better option. They could be reunited. She, Itachi, Sasuke, and Obito as well.

Orochimaru for his part struggled against the energy sword, trying to brake free. Dammit, he could not die here. He still had so many plans that he had to carry out. The Elemental Nations could be his! And then he could finally focus on trying to solve the mystery of the nature of life.

Looking straight at Moukaryuu, Sasuke nodded at him.

Moukaryuu for his part simply looked Sasuke straight in the yes. **"You're not half bad, Uchiha. Still messed up like the rest of your clan was, but you're all right in my book."**

Sasuke merely grinned.

Looking at his follow dragons, Moukaryuu nodded at them before they all focused their attacks straight at where the three shinobi were.

'Wait for us, Itachi, Obito….' thought Mikoto to herself as an image of the two appeared in her mind before being replaced by those of both Naruto and Kushina. 'It's up to you two, now….'

Mikoto closed her eyes as the attacks were fired from each dragon from all sides around her, one final tear leaving her.

'Farewell….'

The attacks hit with Sasuke deactivating his Susanoo at the final second, causing a major explosion.

* * *

><p>Kushina stopped on her tracks as she felt a powerful explosion nearby. Jumping on top of one of the many rooftops in the area, Kushina saw what appeared to be the form of dragons gathered together in a circle a distance away from her.<p>

She already knew that they were Naruto's summonings now. Still, what exactly were they doing?

Kushina shook her head before jumping down from the rooftop and to the street below, continuing on her way to find Naruto. She had already encountered both Black Zetsu and White Zetsu who told her where Naruto currently was. And as to what he was doing. Mainly fighting Shin.

Which was why she needed to hurry. She needed to be there. But for some odd reason that she could not understand, Kushina felt as if something horrible had just happened. But what could that be?

Finally putting that in the back of her mind, she continued on her way towards the Hokage building.

* * *

><p>In the middle of the now lifeless area in the western section of the village, another battle was currently taking place at the moment.<p>

The only bystander at the moment was Fuka who was watching the proceedings with great interest. And who wouldn't? Really.

Both Mito and Tsunade clashed with each other, the former being slightly faster than the latter as they continued to trade blows with each other.

That was exactly correct. Mito was fighting her granddaughter fists to fists. Now, to anyone else this might seem suicidal unless the other person fighting Tsunade was the Raikage. Well, that person would be dead wrong.

And this had to do with Mito's diamond that she had on her own forehead just like her granddaughter. Markings much like with Tsunade were present on her face as she continued to fight her granddaughter.

Now to understand as to why Mito was even lasting against Tsunade in this type of fight, a little bit of explanation was in order. Mainly as to how Mito's fuinjutsu that was present in her forehead in the form of a diamond fitted into all of this.

And the answer was simple. Much like with Tsunade's own technique, Mito's cells were duplicated in any case of injury so that any injury inflicted could be healed instantly. But the difference was that the new cells created were enhanced beyond the ordinary from their original counterparts. And this was due because of Mito's stimulating the cells with her chakra in order for them to increase their productivity and functions way beyond the maximum. Of course this came at a price. And that was the death of the cells much faster than originally because of the enhancement. This would lead to the eventuality of the death of the user at a fast rate as well. Well, if the user wasn't one from a clan such as the Uzumaki that was.

Mito's body was much stronger and resilient than to that of the average human being. As such, her cells were much stronger as well and could last longer because of this. This gave her a lot more of extra time as a result.

Tsunade could only grunt in pain as she was pushed back by as strong kick to her gut, courtesy of Mito.

Holding her gut in pain, Tsunade looked at her grandmother in anger and in what appeared to be sadness. "You're not going to change your mind, are you?"

Mito tilted her head to the side. "Do you really believe that something like that is possible? Especially this late into the game?"

Mito then spread her arms around, indicating to all around them. "Look at this! This is what I've been waiting for for so many years! And to finally see it accomplished with my own eyes….you couldn't begin to understand how I feel, Tsunade."

Tsunade frowned. "Yeah, perhaps you're right. But if there is something that I learned from you when I was a kid, is that you must have faith in whatever it is that you choose to do. That that is the most important thing." Tsunade stood up straighter as the diamond on her forehead began to glow, the markings on her face beginning to spread all around her body. "Well, this is what I have chosen. I choose to fight for the village, to give it a chance to redeem itself. But to not destroy it. That is what I believe is the right course of action."

Looking at her granddaughter in front of her, Mito couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. "You do take after Hashirama a lot more than of what you think, Tsunade. I'm sure that he would be proud of you." But then the smile disappeared. "But that is no longer of importance. Not anymore. I will remove anyone that tries to stop me from achieving my goal. The only reason that I hadn't killed the last two times we met was to see if you would change your mind. But that seems like a moot point now. You have truly made your final decision on this matter. I guess my hands are tied on this now too."

Tsunade simply narrowed her eyes. "I could say the same to you."

Both kunoichi locked eyes before they rushed at each other again.

Fist against fist. Foot against foot. Hell, head against head. Both women were using the most extreme levels of their strength, each trying to defeat the other. It was an even fight really. While Mito was faster than Tsunade, Tsunade was obviously stronger than Mito in physical strength.

But there was an advantage that Tsunade had secured a few moments prior, and it was becoming apparent. Her wounds were now healing at an even faster rate than before.

Seeing this, Mito frowned before she decided to end the confrontation and jumped back to put some distance between her and Tsunade.

But Tsunade wasn't going to allow her to recover. So instead, she pressed on, rushing straight at Mito who had just enough time to bring both of her arms in front of her in order to block the devastating punch from the blonde Senju.

And it did for the most part, but it couldn't defend the redhead from the strength packed behind the punch. Because of this, Mito was pushed back from the hit before she used chakra in her feet to stop herself, sticking to the ground like if her feet were glued to it.

Mito frowned as she looked at her calm granddaughter. Something had changed with her, all right. She seemed…extremely more powerful now than the last two other encounters when they had fought.

Tsunade cracked all of her knuckles on her hand before she rushed at Mito without a word once more, using the momentum that she had been building up to this point to her advantage.

Mito took a step back as she readied herself. 'All right then, no more fighting her with just taijutsu. I will eventually lose if I keep doing that….' And that was something that Mito would not accept. Not now. Not when she was so close to achieving her goal.

Tsunade pushed all the chakra that she could to her feet which sent her flying forward towards Mito, aiming another set of punches at her.

Mito for her part merely ducked back, bending backwards as Tsunade went past above her. Using this to her advantage, Mito quickly grabbed hold of Tsunade's wrist from the arm that she had extended in order to punch the lights out of her grandmother.

Mito then bended forward again, bringing Tsunade with her as she swung her to the other side. Tsunade grunted in pain as she landed on the ground on her back with a powerful 'thud' noise.

Tsunade quickly stood up before she fell down on the ground on one knee as a sudden wave of weakness hit her. For some reason, Tsunade felt as if her strength was being sucked right out of her.

Seeing this, Mito smirked. It was already taking effect, it seemed.

Seeing the smirk on her grandmother's face, Tsunade scowled as she tried to stand but found the act to be very tiresome. "What did you do!"

Mito shrugged as she took a step forward. "You really should be more perceptive to your surroundings, Tsunade. Or did you really think that I would fight you in brute strength alone? Even with my own seal activated, I am no match for you in that regard."

Tsunade frowned. "What are you saying?"

Mito sighed. "Just look at your wrist, will you?"

Doing so, Tsunade's eyes widened as she found a mark on the shape of a swirl present, glowing as well.

'When she grabbed my wrist….that's when she placed it on me,' thought Tsunade in realization. She didn't need to ask as to what the seal did either. She could already tell as she felt even more weaker than before. It was sucking the chakra out of her.

"It's over, Tsunade," said Mito calmly as she looked at the still kneeling Tsunade. "You can't win this."

Tsunade merely closed her eyes before she stood up on shaking legs as she felt the seal on her wrist consume more chakra from her. It seemed that the more physical movements that she did, the faster the seal would take her chakra from her. And for someone like her, that was devastating.

Opening her eyes and looking straight at Mito, Tsunade knew that she would only have one shot at what she was planning on doing. But she did have something to her advantage here, and that was her grandmother's cockiness. And Tsunade would exploit that to its maximum capability. Maybe even beyond that.

Bringing both of her hands in front of her, they began to glow a hazy blue which completely surrounded both of them.

'The Chakura no Mesu,' thought Mito as she saw this. 'So, she'll go down fighting will she….heh, I wouldn't want it any other way….'

Feeling even more of her chakra leaving her, Tsunade quickly rushed at Mito, both of her hands in front of her and ready to attack her grandmother.

The seal on Mito's forehead began to glow before her entire body began to be completely engulfed in her own chakra, much like with Tsunade's hands. Mito was pushing all of her cells to the limit at the moment and knew that she would only have a minute at best in this form. She was in the same position as her granddaughter, it would seem.

Both women rushed at the other, each trying to achieve her own objective which was completely the opposite of the other. And that was why they both intended to win here. No matter the cost.

Time slowed down as the two kunoichi were less than a foot apart from the other, each one with her right arm extended forward.

Tsunade's right palm was brought forward at the same time as Mito's own right palm. It seemed that they were both using a similar technique here.

Tsunade focused all of her remaining chakra on her right palm, the hazy blue colored chakra around her hand becoming even more powerful than before and ready to penetrate Mito's chakra defense.

Mito for her part had her right hand opened, changing it from how she had had it before at the last moment before it impacted with Tsunade's left shoulder. Inside her opened hand, the hazy blue chakra took the form of that of a spiral ball of energy, much like with the Rasengan.

Both of the attacks hit at the same time, causing for an explosion to surround both of the fighting kunoichi. Said explosion also caused for a cloud of dust to overtake the area, preventing anyone from seeing what the outcome was.

Fuka, still watching the fight from the side, shielded her face from the incoming debris made of rocks that had been created from the explosion.

'Mito….did you win?'

The only true question now remaining here. And that was: just who had won?

The cloud of dust began to disperse after a few seconds, uncovering the sight that it had been shielding from the rest of the world.

And that sight was that of the unmoving forms of both Mito and Tsunade, both still standing and with each still having her right arm extended forward.

It seemed that they had both been successful with their attacks, if the wound on both of their left shoulders was any indication. Blood was trickling down from each wound on both women, a small puddle having formed underneath them which would no doubt eventually combine with the other. Mito's chakra that had surrounded her had disappeared, as well as the chakra that had surrounded Tsunade's right hand.

This sight held for just a moment longer before both grandmother and granddaughter alike fell down to the ground on their knees, both of their foreheads touching against the other.

Mito panted heavily as she looked at her granddaughter with an also heavily panting Tsunade looking right back at her, their eyes meeting with each other.

Mito then lowered head to the ground as more blood began to come out of her mouth, her coughing successfully puking it out. This was soon mirrored by Tsunade.

It seemed that the activation of their respective seals was finally taking its toll on each of them. Not to mention the seal that Mito placed on Tsunade which had successfully consumed all of the blonde Senju's chakra.

They were both out. It seemed that their fight was at an end, with it ending in a draw.

But Fuka was still there. And said redhead wasn't about to let anything happen to Mito either. She took a step forward towards the downed kunoichi before she halted, the reason being Mito turning her eyes towards her direction with a small shake of her head. It seemed that Mito didn't want her to interfere, even now.

Turning back to look at Tsunade, Mito could only grin despite the pain that started to appear all around her body. Her cells had reached their limit, it would seem. She didn't have much time.

"I must hand it to you, Tsunade. You put up more of a fight than of what I expected. But now, it's all over."

Tsunade panted more as she looked at her grandmother in return. "I wouldn't say that. You can't fight anymore, just like me. This is a draw."

Mito smirked as some of her blood oozed down from her lips. "I wasn't talking about this. You might have stopped me, but you're forgetting that I'm not alone. I might not be able to finish this, but at least I know that the others will. And that's more than enough for me now."

Tsunade gritted her teeth in anger at this. She knew that Mito was right. And now, in her heavily injured form, she knew that she wouldn't be able to do a single thing to stop the others that were also trying to destroy the village. Mainly Naruto.

She might have not lost the battle here, but she definitely lost the war.

Mito then did something that completely shocked Tsunade to her core. Despite the extreme pain and difficulty that the act brought to her, Mito engulfed Tsunade in a tight hug, bringing both of her arms around her granddaughter's back.

Tsunade's eyes were wide in shock. "What are you-"

"This is it," interrupted Mito with a smile which Tsunade could not see. "We're both moving to the next life….together."

Realization hit Tsunade as a complicated array of seals appeared all around Mito's body before the symbols that made the seal began to glow. But despite this, Tsunade tried nothing to stop it. She knew that it was over. Even if she did by some miracle got out of this alive, she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop any of these events any longer.

It was at this moment that Senju Tsunade finally gave up. But she didn't care. She was exhausted from all the crap that she had had to put up to get to this point. But now, it seemed that it was finally going to be over. Her long awaited rest….that was what she was looking towards to now.

So with that thought in mind, Tsunade also embraced her grandmother in a similar fashion. They might not have been a family before this, but now in death, it seemed that it had finally happened, despite the messed up circumstances that it was happening in. But Tsunade was content with that.

Looking towards the rock still Fuka, Mito sent her one final smile before uttering three simple words.

_"Live, Fuka, live….."_

The symbols glowed to their maximum before the seal finally did what it was meant to do. And that was for it to kill its user by blowing up, causing for an explosion to occur which surrounded the small area around Mito, including Tsunade.

* * *

><p>Fu could only watch with wide eyes as she looked up towards the sky to see both Naruto and Shin fighting in mid air, one with a sword and the other with bare hands.<p>

But it was obvious to anyone watching that Naruto had the advantage thanks to the Seikatsugakari. Something which infuriated Shin to no end.

A few moments later, Shin was sent flying down towards the ground with a massive cut running down his chest towards his stomach. A massive cry of pain could be heard as he landed in the ground with a large impact, creating a small crater because of this.

The markings from his curse mark began to glow as he looked at the landing Naruto with pure hatred in his rinnegan eyes.

_**"You…."**_

Naruto brought his sword forward, the crimson energy from the Seikatsugakari quickly engulfing him completely as well as the said sword.

"It's time to bring this to an end. I'm sure that you agree with me on that at least, correct?"

Shin smirked as he stood up, the curse mark that ran across his whole body still glowing. _**"Yeah, I can say that much at least."**_

Fu gulped slightly as she felt the atmosphere around her beginning to change, a massive power surrounding the whole area. But she would not leave. She would stay here, see things through to the end. Just like Neji had done.

Deep in Naruto's subconscious, Kurama could only close his eyes as he felt the approaching energy from the rest of his brothers.

Despite knowing what was going to happen as a result, Kurama let out a grin.

**'It's almost time….'**

Things would finally come to their final conclusion.

* * *

><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Yeah, I'm finally back and with a new chapter. Well, it really hasn't been that long. But whatever. It's finally here!**

…**..And well, that's all that I really have to say about this. Oh, and the fact that next chapter will be the finale of this story. At long last! Actually, I don't know if I should split it up into two chapters or not. I mean, I could but I just don't know yet. I'll make up my decision as I'm writing it, I suppose. Also there will be an epilogue which will tie everything down. Meaning as to how exactly Naruto will live out his life after this. Heh, you will be all surprised. I can say that much. And if you already think that you know what I'm going to do and when I post it you turn out to be right, then….I salute you. That is all.**

**But honestly, I can say that I'm really proud of this chapter just like the last one. I know that it wasn't focused on Naruto, but I just wanted to get the other fights out of the way so that I could focus just on Naruto and Shin on the next one.**

**Well, that's all folks. A review will be appreciated.**

**Till next time.**


	59. Creation of the New World

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto  
>"Hmm…"- Tailed Beasts, Summonings, and Black Zetsu<br>**_**"Hmm…"**_**- Shin, Seikatsugakari  
><strong>

**AN: After much consideration and having my ear blasted with threats that I'd rather not repeat by a certain someone that shall remain unanimous for personal safety of yours truly, I have decided to not split this chapter in two. So what I'm basically saying is that this is the final chapter of this story. Well, besides the epilogue that is.**

**That's all that I have to say for now. Enjoy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 58:<br>Creation of the New World**

Funny how one could never predict what was in store for his future. What you would do. Or what you would _choose_ to do would be the better statement. But the thing was, that this wasn't the type of funny that one would laugh at. It was more of an ironic funny in a way. But it would just simply take too much time to explain the complexity of that thought.

Naruto didn't know why he was thinking of something like that now of all times, when there was only one true obstacle standing between him and his selfish goal. Perhaps even childish in some ways depending on how an outsider would view the current situation. Not that the silver haired rinnegan wielder cared about what others would think of what he was doing.

He was doing it. Point and simple. There was no need to dig further than that. Well, not in his mind at least. Others would probably think differently.

Looking straight at his other self, Naruto once more reflected on what he had been thinking of just a few moments prior. When he had first met Dark Naruto, he would have had never guessed that this was how things would end between them.

Naruto knew that only one of them was going to walk away from this fight. It was only a matter of who it was going to be. But no matter who walked alive after this confrontation, one thing was clear in Naruto's mind: the shinobi world was finished.

With everything that had taken place in a mere day, perhaps even less than that, every great nation had been devastated. The one with the highest blow was obviously Konoha, seeing as it would cease to exist after today.

And as for the other villages….

_**"I couldn't think of a better setting to end this, would you?"**_

Naruto looked at Shin who was looking at the destroyed village around them, his curse mark still glowing as it ran across his entire body.

Shin spread his arms around him. _**"The whole reason I even came to existence in the first place was because of this place. And now, it's being destroyed as a result."**_

"You're not the one destroying this place," Naruto said with a calm voice. "I'm the one doing this."

Shin shook his head slightly at that. _**"Do you really think that you would be here today if it weren't for me? Well, I can't really take all of the credit either. Madara sure did a good job at turning you into his little weapon."**_

Shin looked straight at Naruto, their rinnegan eyes meeting once more. _**"You've been simply lead by the hand ever since Kyuubi told you about what happened to Uzu all those years ago. If someone else had been there, if one of your so called 'comrades' had been there with you, I'm positively sure that none of this would have occurred. You would have simply found some idiotic excuse to forgive this village and moved on, not caring at all about what they did in the slightest. Am I right?"**_

Silence was all that Shin received. Not that it changed anything. Shin already knew that he was one hundred percent correct.

_**"That's your biggest flaw, Naruto. You are simply too easy to deceive, ready to follow anyone else's lead. You've acted that way ever since you were a kid. And that hasn't changed in the slightest now."**_

Pointing at Naruto's rinnegan, Shin continued, _**"The rinnegan and the sharingan….the only reason you even possess them is because of someone else. They were simply given to you, along with a lot of your power. Like I have said, you've been simply lead by the hand all along. You are nothing more than the work that was planned and created by someone else. Nothing more."**_

Naruto simply stared at Shin. "Are you done yet?"

Shin grinned at hearing the response from Naruto. _**"Just trying to play it off isn't going to make me any less right. And you know it. You know I'm right. Because I am you. And you are me. You are nothing more than a fake!"**_

Naruto calmly looked at Shin. "If I'm just simply a fake, than what does that make you?"

Shin frowned but didn't respond.

Seeing this, Naruto continued, "I'm not going to try and deny anything that you have said. Because you are right. My denying it would simply be idiotic."

Naruto sighed as he looked at the ground beneath his feet, carrying on with a soft tone, "I have often wondered what would have become of me if I hadn't taken Kurama's offer three years ago. I'm sure that it would have been different than this. But better? That is something that I can't answer. I don't think anyone can really. The answer simply deals with perspective. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' answer."

Naruto then shrugged. "Like I've already said: I'm not going to try and deny anything of what you said. Because I think that you might be right. Just what would have happened if someone else had been there when I learned the truth? Jiraiya? Tsunade? Or maybe even Kakashi? Maybe I would have forgiven the village like you said. But things didn't turn out that way. The only ones there were you and Kurama….heh, so it's not of any surprise that I am where I am here today. Well, to me at least," he said with a chuckle. "I've already known that the whole reason I even have the rinnegan in the first place is thanks to Madara, for the plans that he already had in place years ago. That's the truth. But the whole reason that this is even happening is because of me. I chose to do this in the end. I could have chosen something else, but this is the one choice that I made. I know that for a fact. The context doesn't matter. Madara's role and my role go together. This wouldn't have had happened if one of them were to be missing from the equation."

"I also know that you had your own secret agenda from the beginning along with Kurama, although he changed his mind somewhere along the road. But you….well, we're here right now, aren't we? That should offer enough of an answer. But the simple truth of the matter is that we're all shaped by the people around us, affecting our choices as a whole as well as to the type of human being that we become because of our choices. Madara, you, and Kurama….you three had a major role in turning me into who I am today. But in the end it comes back down to the simple fact that I chose this. You and everyone else simply affected it. But I could have turned my back on this. And then none of us would be here today."

Shin was silent for a few moments before he sighed. _**"You can turn it around anyway you want. It still won't change anything that-"**_

"Like I've already said," interrupted Naruto, "there is no 'right' or 'wrong' answer to this. This is just how things are. Someone else could think differently about it. But do you really think that that would matter to me at this point? When things are finally coming to their end? If my resolve was that weak, then it would have been a miracle that I had even gotten to this point in the first place."

Shin hmph'ed at that before he grinned. _**"Well, there is some truth in your words. I'll admit to that much at least. Anyone can think about this situation in anyway that he desires. But just like you, I don't really give a rat's ass as to what they would think. All that matters to me at this point is killing you. Just like I did so with that little Hyuuga pal of yours."**_

Shin brought the hand that he had used to rip out Neji's heart in front of his face, a crazed look appearing on his face as a result. _**"I can't wait to feel that way again when I'm ripping out your heart from your body. The only downside will be that I won't be able to do it again with you being alive to feel the pain that it would bring. But I guess then that I should simply savor it the first time as much as possible!"**_

Naruto brought the Seikatsugakari in front of him as Shin rushed at him with a faster speed than before. The curse mark that was present all throughout his body was still glowing.

_**"That sword can't save you forever!"**_

Naruto felt himself be pushed back as Shin sent a powerful punch to the sword in front of him. It didn't brake the Seikatsugakari in half like it had done with Madara's gunbai earlier, but the punch was powerful enough to push him back.

'It's that curse mark of his,' realized Naruto as he pushed chakra to his feet, making him and Shin become in a standstill.

**"I take it that Kabuto must have gave it to him at some point. It must be his way of countering the advantage that you possess over him because of my chakra."**

Naruto had to agree with the nine tailed fox on that. Not that it mattered anymore. Now Naruto possessed the Seikatsugakari, a weapon that still tipped the odds in his favor.

Shin gritted his teeth in frustration at the standstill before he brought his fist back and duck down, sending a low kick towards Naruto's feet.

In response, Naruto jumped up into the air, bringing his other hand forward which was mirrored by his counterpart.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

Both remaining rinnegan wielders were once more at a standstill, each of them trying to blow the other one away. Feeling Shin get an advantage because of the curse mark that he now had, the red markings as well as the eye that they formed from before began to appear on Naruto, giving him the edge that he needed in order to retaliate against Shin.

Shin gritted his teeth in frustration a second time before he and Naruto were both blown back from the collision of their gravity attacks.

Quickly getting right back up, both of them rushed at each other again. Even through his frustration, Shin knew that Naruto had an advantage because of the sword that he now had in his possession. Quickly ducking to the side at the last moment before they clashed, Shin extended his arm towards Madara's broken gunbai. Using the Bansho Tenin, the pieces of the gunbai were quickly pulled towards his open palm.

Seeing this, Naruto rushed at Shin's location with the intent of stopping him.

Shin brought his other arm in front of him, using it to defend himself from the sword strike that was sent at him by Naruto.

Naruto had expected for Shin's arm to have had been cut off immediately. Instead, the arm held, succeeding in stopping him from cutting down the rest of its owner's body as well.

'So he's using the gravity manipulation as a temporary shield, is he? Clever...'

But even so, the Seikatsugakari's real power wasn't to cut. No, it was to consume. But even that proved to be useless as nothing happened to Shin who had the gunbai in his hand and quickly put it back together in one by applying his chakra to it. Well, it wasn't really back in one piece. Anyone could see that it had been broken right in the middle. The only thing keeping it together was the black energy that the weapon was entirely surrounded in.

Naruto jumped back as Shin swung his new weapon at him.

Naruto could only frown as he landed. 'Just why isn't the Seikatsugakari working on him?'

Kurama was silent, even though he had a theory but wasn't entirely sure yet.

Shin grinned as began to swing the gunbai at Naruto's location. _**"This should even the odds!"**_

Naruto readied himself as waves of dark colored winds were shot at him by Shin.

Having already seen this attack done by Madara, Naruto was already prepared for it. Bringing his freed hand forward, Naruto immediately repelled the tornado like winds, one after the other.

Instead of becoming dithered by this, Shin instead grinned. It would have been disappointing if that had finished this fight. Well, not that the thought even crossed his mind in the first place. Shin already knew for a fact that he would have to go all out here right now. After all, he was fighting himself here.

_**"Here I come, Naruto!"**_

Naruto jumped off into the air without a response, an act that was mirrored by Shin. Bringing the Seikatsugakari forward, it clashed with the gunbai that was now in Shin's possession. The two wielders of the weapons tried to push the other back, pushing all of their raw strength into accomplishing this.

Shin looked at Naruto with a crazed look as they both landed on the ground, both of their weapons still clashing with each other. _**"You might have had an advantage over me with the Kyuubi's power, but not anymore. Now that I have the curse mark, things are back on an even field!"**_

Both Naruto and Kurama snorted at that, Kurama more so. "Do you really think that a simple curse mark can match Kurama's power?" This was a thought that was shared by the nine tailed fox. What Shin was implying was a great insult to the bijuu. Not only that, but as of right now he couldn't do jack shit about it. Just like with Naruto in the past, Shin was turning out to be another pain in the ass that Kurama just couldn't have the pleasure of squashing with his paws.

Shin for his part smirked as he jumped back, quickly sending another torrent of black wind in order to counter the wave of crimson energy that was sent towards him by Naruto swinging the Seikatsugakari forward.

Landing, Shin chuckled. _**"A regular curse mark? Of course not. Even I have to admit that Kyuubi possesses a formidable power. It's the whole reason I'm even here today, after all."**_

**"You're welcome…."** muttered Kurama with no real meaning behind it. That had been one of his greatest mistakes that he had ever done in his long life.

Shin then shrugged as the markings of the curse mark began to glow even more, quickly expanding even more to meet with each other which effectively covered his entire body completely. His skin color turned from that of a tan-ish color to a a dark brown color. Two fangs appeared on each side of his upper teeth as well as his hair growing even longer. It now reached almost to his lower back, resembling the length of that of Madara's hair that it had possessed. However, it still retained its jet black color. The most shocking change, though, was that of the appearance of two wings that erupted into life on Shin's back. The wings tore right through the fabric that made Shin's outfit and by default, Naruto's as well. Seeing this, Shin ripped out what remained of his top, leaving him now shirtless. This proved to be more comfortable for his newly formed wings. The wings also contained what appeared to be black feathers that ran on both sides of both wings.

_**"Kabuto made this curse mark especially for me. It enhances every single one of my techniques, as well as my natural speed and strength. Although, that isn't really much of a change as the other curse marks. But what makes this one so especial is me. The more chakra that I feed into the curse mark, the stronger it becomes. Which by default, makes me stronger as well. More speed, more strength, and more powerful attacks. And thanks to our almost limitless stamina, I can give it as much chakra as possible. No, even more than that!"**_

Naruto could only lower his head at hearing this. 'What a pain in the ass….my own strengths being used against me! Tch, now I know how it feels to be played….'

Kurama sighed. **"What the idiot doesn't know is that that sword that you picked up does the exact same thing as his curse mark. As well as some other additional powers…."**

Naruto quickly swung the Seikatsugakari forward once again, sending another wave of the sword's crimson energy towards the now cocky Shin.

In retaliation, Shin swung the gunbai in his hands, sending the black wind to clash with the crimson energy again. _**"Don't you get it yet!? It's useless!"**_

Naruto didn't respond. Instead, he used the newly created cloud of smoke from the result of the impact of his and Shin's attacks to his advantage.

Shin was taken back in a surprise for a split second as Naruto appeared behind him, the Seikatsugakari's energy surrounding him completely.

Shin disappeared in a dark flash as the blade of Naruto's sword ran right through where he had been.

Looking up, Naruto wasn't surprised to see a flying Shin. The guy had wings for Kami's sake! What else was he supposed to do with them?

Naruto t'ched in annoyance as he placed the Seikatsugakari on his shoulder at the moment. In terms of energy, Shin obviously had the advantage. Unlike the almost limitless supply of energy that the curse mark could receive from its wielder, the Seikatsugakari's own energy pool was limited. It increased in size with the more souls that it consumed. And while Naruto had make sure that it had consumed quite a number of souls, the energy that it gained from this wouldn't last forever. It would obviously run out a lot quicker than Shin's power, that was for sure.

Off to the side and a safe distance away, Fu could only only look up at the flying Shin. Taking a step forward, she was about to join the battle before she was stopped by none other than Chomei.

**"I know what you're thinking, but it would be in your best interest if you don't do it."**

Hearing this, Fu gritted her teeth in both frustration and anger. Frustration because Chomei was stopping her from going through with what she was thinking of doing and anger because she knew that her bijuu was right.

'Then what am I suppose to-'

**"Patience. As well as to have faith in him. He will not lose here. That I am one hundred percent sure of. Besides, if you die now, then our whole being here will have been for nothing."**

Now that just made the mint haired girl even more confused than before. 'What are you talking about?'

Chomei sighed silently. **"You don't have to worry about that for the moment, Fu. I know that you want to help Naruto no matter what. Even if it means that you have to give up your life as a result. Just know that the chance will come for you to do just that."**

That just gave the young girl even more questions than answers. But if there was one thing that Fu had learned ever since she had gotten to know Chomei better, it was that the bijuu was extremely wise. And often, that he was right. Not only that, but she had come to trust the bijuu as well. And while not fully understanding what the bijuu was telling her, Fu decided to put her faith in him one more time. And in Naruto as well.

Up in the sky, Shin merely looked down at Naruto before he brought his freed hand up above him. Less than a second later, he brought it down in front of him.

**"Kuchiyose!"**

Naruto scowled as he immediately jumped out of the way of a giant hand appearing from the newly created cloud of dust due to the jutsu that had just been used.

Landing, Naruto was immediately on the defensive again as another hand appeared above him, ready to squash him. Bringing his free hand above him, Naruto immediately counterattacked.

**"Shinra Tensei!"**

The decayed looking hand was immediately stopped on its path to squash Naruto but wasn't pushed back.

Falling to the ground on one knee, Naruto gritted his teeth as the hand tried to force its way through the attack in order to squash him like a bug.

**"NARUTO!"**

"NARUTO!"

Fu was immediately on the run, heading towards Naruto who appeared to be losing the fight of pushing the giant hand away.

**"Fu, don't!"**

Hearing the stern tone on Chomei's voice, Fu hesitated for a moment before she continued to run towards Naruto.

It wasn't long before the hand from before joined the first in trying to push through Naruto's attack. With just one of them in the fray it had been hard enough for Naruto. But both? No chance.

Putting any rational thoughts aside, Fu was immediately less than ten feet away from Naruto who saw her approaching despite the fact that two giant hands were trying to kill him.

Having had had enough, Naruto looked up at the two hands that were descending down towards him despite his gravity attack. Before they could completely reach him, red chakra began to surround Naruto. The said chakra quickly engulfed the approaching Fu as well, quickly shielding her as well as pushing both of the hands away.

This was due to the fact that the red chakra manifested itself into Kurama's form with said bijuu quickly repelling the hands away.

The hands themselves belonged to none other than the Gedo Mazo which had been summoned by Shin. It now had both of its hands free from their restraints that it had just tried to use to kill Naruto.

A moment later, Shin landed on the demonic statue's head, looking straight at Naruto who was now standing on top of Kurama's head.

A wide eyed Fu was currently next to Naruto with the said mint haired jinchuriki now sitting on her ass on Kurama's head.

**"I told you not to interfere!"**

Fu flinched slightly at the angry voice of Chomei that ran throughout her head. But she wasn't sorry for what she had just done. She knew that it was stupid. Hell, beyond stupid. She also knew that this was a fight that she had no place in. She just simply wasn't strong enough for her to take part in it. But despite all that, the thought of seeing Naruto die was just too much for her. She didn't care if it wasn't the 'shinobi way' of thinking in situations like this. All she cared about was Naruto.

'Huh, is this how Sakura felt about Sasuke?'

At that thought, Fu could only sigh. It seemed that she wasn't that much better than the pink haired medic after all.

Naruto glanced at the sitting Fu for a moment to make sure that she was all right before turning his attention back to Shin and the Gedo Mazo.

'Thanks, Kurama…..'

Kurama hmph'ed. **"Don't thank me just yet, Naruto….."**

Something about the way that the bijuu said that made Naruto feel uneasy for some reason. And that was something that Naruto had not felt in a long time. Well, not since Mikoto and Obito had been chasing after him when he was in the Land of the Lightning looking for the summoning contract of the dragons at least. Now that felt like it had taken place ages ago.

But that was something that Naruto could not dwell on at the moment. No, he had a bigger problem at hand at the current time.

Shin scowled as he looked at Kurama. _**"Still getting in my way, are you, Kyuubi? Just what exactly do you see in that fake!? I'm the real Naruto! Not him!"**_

Kurama simply sighed. **"No you're not. You're something else entirely. You're not Uzumaki Naruto. That distinction goes to the brat that's standing on top of my head. Not that it should be much of an honor anyway…."**

If the situation wasn't so serious, Naruto was sure that he would have sweatdropped at Kurama 'defending' him.

Shin smirked. _**"I guess you're right about that. I am something else. Something better! I'm not Uzumaki Naruto. I'm now Shin, the true heir of the Rikudo Sennin!"**_

Naruto couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "And what makes you think that?"

Shin shook his head. _**"Isn't it obvious? Out of the two of us, I'm the better one. If the Sennin would have known about me, then he wouldn't have had made you his heir! You're not good enough to fulfill that role."**_

Naruto chuckled until he erupted in laughter. "Hahahahaha! And you think that you are! Look at yourself! I'll admit that I'm no better than you are, but I don't try to hide it. You yourself are trying to destroy the entire world! How is that exactly going to help fix this mess that we call the shinobi world? Not only that, but you're selling the Sennin short. He's pretty aware of your existence." Naruto smirked darkly. "In fact, he's known about you since the beginning."

Now Shin was starting to become confused, not that he showed it. _**"What are you talking about?"**_

Naruto continued to smirk as he pointed at Shin and at himself. "I'll let you on a little secret since you obviously seem to be out of the loop. The Rikudo Sennin knew about from the beginning because he _is_ me. And I _am_ he. We are the same."

Shin gritted his teeth in anger. _**"That's not-"**_

"It is," interrupted Naruto. "He told me so himself. But I'm sure that you must have thought of yourself as the true reincarnation since you're a cocky bastard. Well, you weren't far off. Although I know for a fact as to who I am. You just based it on the fact that you think of yourself as a god. Well, you're not! You're nothing more than a shadow of who I really am! The fact that you took the name of 'Shin' proves it! As well as the fact that you're trying to kill me! You're simply trying to prove to yourself that you're more than a simple copy despite the fact that you know deep in your nonexistent heart that that is the simple truth. That's who you are, Shin. Nothing more, nothing less."

That was the last straw. Whatever sanity that still existed in Shin was now utterly gone. Growling, Shin screamed in anger as well as the Gedo Mazo before it charged straight at Kurama in order to get to Naruto.

Seeing the approaching giant statue, Kurama held his ground as he shot his tails towards the statue in order to stall it.

Fu shook her fists in frustration. She didn't want for things to go this way. Naruto had been protecting her all this time, saving her from what would have become a gruesome fate if the elders had had their way, especially Danzo. Of course Obito had also been there to help her ever since she had met him that day in Taki. Even though he had stated otherwise, Fu knew that she had had earned a small spot in the Uchiha's heart. They had become good friends. Just like it had happened with Neji and Anko. But Naruto was different. Fu didn't really know what had drawn her to him. But before she knew it, she had fallen for her fellow jinchuriki.

And now, when she wanted to help him the most, she couldn't do a single thing. It was frustrating to say the least.

The Gedo Mazo roared in anger as it tried to maneuver around the incoming tails, but instead it found itself in the receiving end of a powerful push from the combined tails.

Shin growled before he brought his next card forward. The Gedo Mazo opened its mouth as it continued to wrestle with the tails.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he saw this. 'Is he going to bring out Shukaku?'

**"That would be stupid. No doubt the idiot is weakened from having have had all of his chakra used in order to create all those White Zetsus."**

That was the only possibly way that both Naruto and Kurama could see that the clones had been made. Especially with the quantity and the short amount of time. No doubt that it had been done by Obito. He was the best logical choice.

But it seemed that Shin didn't know that. It wasn't that surprising really since he had obviously arrived after the White Zetsu army had done its damage on the village and its shinobi.

'Well, this will work out to our advantage then!'

A moment later and a pissed off looking Shukaku came out from the Gedo Mazo which made Kurama jump back lest the one tailed bijuu appear right on top of him.

**"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!"**

Naruto chuckled slightly. 'Well, he's not a happy bijuu….'

_**"Oi, you now serve me, got that?"**_

Shukaku turned his head to look at whoever had said that and found the person to be some weird looking human. Well, all humans were weird looking in his opinion. But he was not in the mood to put up with this crap. He was tired. Almost all of his chakra was now gone since something had taken it away from him. He didn't know what. But now he was free again. And despite his weakened state, he planned to keep it that way.

Looking down at his feet, Shin raised an eyebrow as sand began to wrap around his feet. Looking back at Shukaku, he saw a twisted grin on the bijuu's face.

**"I take orders from no one, got that!?"**

Shin simply sighed before repelling the sand away from his feet before it could crush them. Why he had even thought that this was going to work was beyond him at this point.

The Gedo Mazo then sprung into action the next moment, quickly grabbing a hold of both of Shukaku's shoulders. Shukaku for his part screamed in anger as he tried to push the statue off of him but instead found himself starting to feel even weaker than before.

On top of the Gedo Mazo, Shin quickly ducked down as Naruto appeared behind him surrounded in Kurama's chakra cloak, swinging the Seikatsugakari at his torso.

**"Fire Style: Gokakyu!"**

Naruto was immediately engulfed in the fire attack but wasn't harmed. Instead, he simply absorb it using the rinnegan. Not to mention Kurama's chakra that was protecting him.

Shukaku felt himself beginning to be absorb back into the Gedo Mazo until both Kurama and Chomei appeared on his side, quickly pushing the statue back and away from the weakened bijuu.

Kurama smirked at Chomei. **"Glad you decided to join the party."**

Chomei hmph'ed. **"It was Fu's idea, not mine."**

But Kurama continued to smirk. He knew that if Chomei didn't want to participate that he wouldn't have had allowed for Fu to transform into him. That was the key of the full transformation between a jinchuriki and the bijuu that he or she possessed: a bond between the host and the beast.

Shukaku for his part could only look at both bijuu in front of him in complete surprise. Why were they helping him? Bijuu never helped each other. Especially the two in front of him. They had always been the more loners of the group. So why?

But Kurama had already sensed this. Without turning around, he said, **"You can thank us later, Shukaku. As of right now, we have a battle to win."**

Shin glanced behind him for a moment to see what was happening. What he saw caused for him to become even more enraged than ever.

He then felt his senses telling him to dodge but wasn't able to respond in time. He grunted in pain as he felt something pierce him right though his left shoulder.

"You don't have time to look away, you know."

Turning around to come face to face with Naruto who had stabbed him with the Seikatsugakari, Shin scowled. _**"Do you really think that this will stop me? No, nothing can stop me. You should know that, Naruto."**_

Naruto simply smirked in return. "You know something. I was wondering as to why my sword wouldn't work on you. And I've finally figured it out."

Shin frowned, not understanding in the slightest before he felt his power being drained by him once Naruto had placed his other hand on his other shoulder.

"It's because you don't have a soul. You're simply a chakra entity like the bijuu that has also gained a body. But because you're my chakra, I can absorb you!"

Shin gritted his teeth in anger before bringing the gunbai that he still had in his possession and tried cut down Naruto's hand that was still in his shoulder.

But Naruto brought his hand back before that could happen. Using the Seikatsugakari as a footing, Naruto jumped on it before jumping up to the air and bringing the Seikatsugakari with him as well as sending a final kick at Shin's chest which sent him tumbling back.

Holding his wounded shoulder in pain, Shin looked up at Naruto in anger. _**"You will not stop me!"**_

"Keep telling yourself that!"

Gripping the gunbai in his hands even more tightly, Shin flew up towards Naruto who was still in mid air.

As for the Gedo Mazo, it soon found himself in the receiving end of a beating by three bijuu that just didn't seem to get enough of beating the crap out of it.

With Naruto no longer being on it, the three bijuu finally went all out on the statue that had once been the Juubi's body.

The Gedo Mazo fell to the ground before it used its hands a support in order to stop itself from completely falling to the ground. Most of its body was now in bad shape thanks to the bijuu currently present.

Kurama, Chomei, and Shukaku all stood side by side as they prepared to use the strongest technique in their arsenal that was known only to the bijuu. Bringing all of their chakra together as well as what little the Shukaku possessed, a gigantic tail beast ball papered.

**"BIJUDAMA!"**

The Gedo Mazo raised its head only for it to see the incoming attack, ready to blow him up into tiny pieces. Which it did. Not being able to dodge, the Gedo Mazo was soon engulfed in the attack.

Up in the air, both Naruto and Shin were in the middle of executing a series of combos of strikes from both the Seikatsugakari and the gunbai respectively. But due to the magnitude of the last attack, they found themselves being flown back as a result of the shockwave after the attack had exploded.

Shin tried to use his wings as a countermeasure against the powerful shockwave so that he wouldn't be thrown around like a rag doll.

Naruto for his part used one of his chakra hands from Kurama's chakra cloak in order to grab a hold of the ground beneath him.

A few moments later, the aftershock of the attack died off, leaving a sizable crater now in its impact with the remains of the Gedo Mazo being in the middle.

Quickly seeing this, Shin looked at the three bijuu responsible in barely restrained anger. The whole reason that he had summoned the Gedo Mazo in the first place besides bringing out Shukaku in order to use him against Naruto was so that he could seal the other bijuu within it. Then, he would posses the Juubi and become its jinchuriki. But now that the Gedo Mazo had been destroyed, that plan was shot to hell. Quite literally as well.

Taking all of this in, Shin pushed more chakra into his curse mark. At first, he had hoped to just play around before he finally killed Naruto and took all of the bijuu. After all, he wanted to enjoy this as much as possible. But now he just threw that plan out of the window. Now, he was just simply going to end it.

Gathering as much chakra as possible, Shin appeared right in front of the three bijuu in an instant. They were his first target. So caught up in his dark thoughts, Shin didn't notice the appearance of Naruto on top of Kurama's head at the last moment.

**"SHINRA TENSEI!"**

All around them, everything was blown to oblivion. That included buildings such as the Hokage building and every other structure around it as well as trees and anything else in the blast radius. This part of the village was just one big crater now.

A panting Shin looked at his handiwork. That had taken quite a bit of chakra, but he still had more than enough to finish things with Naruto if he had survived this anyway.

Looking in front of him, the first thing that Shin saw after the cloud of dust began to clear up was the downed form of Shukaku. The bijuu was still conscious, however. But that was barely.

Shukaku looked at Shin with frustration present in his yellow eyes at the fact that he couldn't kill him because of his weakened state.

Shin smirked. _**"You'll soon be of use to me. But for now, stay there like a good beast, would you?"**_

Shukaku snarled but knew that there was nothing he could do right now.

Shin tore his eyes away from Shukaku in order to look for the other two bijuu. The one that he wanted to see beaten down the most was Kurama for obvious reasons.

As the cloud of dust dissipated more, Shin saw one of the most surprising things that he had ever seen. And that was an unharmed Kurama that was currently wearing Naruto's Susanoo like armor with said rinnegan wielder standing on top of Kurama's head, arms crossed and with the Seikatsugakari on his back.

An injured Fu was kneeling next to him. The attack had managed to damage her some before Naruto got to her.

Shin scowled as he saw this. _**"How did you-"**_

"Believe me," interrupted Naruto, "I'm as surprised as you are. But this is simply an idea that Kurama gave to me." Glancing at Shukaku, Naruto bowed his head slightly. "It seems that I wasn't able to protect you though since you don't have a jinchuriki anymore. I do apologize for that."

Shukaku snorted before looking the other way even though he did appreciate Naruto's sentiment. But that didn't mean that he was going to show it though.

Shin snorted as well. _**"What's this? You actually care for the bijuu? That's the dumbest thing that I have ever seen!"**_

**"And that is why Naruto is standing on my head, not you."** retorted Kurama. **"You know nothing. That is why the old man chose Naruto and not you."**

Shin shrugged. _**"Then I'll just show my past self that I'm the right one, not the fake before me."**_

Naruto shook his head. "Still going on about that, are you?" He then smirked. "That being said, I'm going to enjoy this."

Shin's smirk matched Naruto's. _**"I could say the same thing."**_

No more words were said as Kurama rushed at the still Shin before said individual brought his hand down on the ground that he had used to summon the Gedo Mazo again.

**"Kuchiyose!"**

Kurama clashed with a newly summoned creature. Said creature happened to be none other a dragon except that this one was different from the rest. For starter, the dragon was bigger than the others that Naruto had summoned so far. Not only that, but his whole body was of pure black color except for his eyes which were a dark purple color.

Both the dragon and Kurama hit the other with their heads.

Naruto frowned as he looked at the dragon. 'Is this….?'

_**"That's right. I introduce you the leader of the dragon summons: Kurai, the dragon of the darkness!"**_

Naruto sighed. 'This guy is out of his mind….but, this gives the opportunity that I've been waiting for. Now then, Kurai, it's time to kick you out of your throne that you seem to be so proud of.'

Two swords manifested themselves next to Kurama who grabbed a hold of them and quickly used them to try to stab Kurai.

The dragon leader for his part brought both of his wings in front of him as a protective shield of sort.

Naruto frowned as he noticed that the swords from his Susanoo didn't pierce the wings. 'So, it seems that they're your defense, eh? But still, for them to be able to be resilient enough to completely block against my swords…..eh, not bad Kurai. But still….'

Kurai quickly found himself surrounded by multiple wooden stakes that erupted to life all around him. The wooden stakes quickly wrapped themselves all around his body including his wings.

Shin frowned. _**'So he managed to grab a hold of Hashirama's wood style, did he? Unfortunately, you're nowhere his level of mastery of the Mokuton!'**_

This was proven to be true as Kurai quickly and effortlessly broke from his wooden prison.

But Naruto already knew this from the beginning. All that he had managed to gain from seeing Hashirama was to get an understanding of how to even perform the Mokuton but not anything else. He didn't have the control or knowledge to perform it flawlessly like Hashirama could or perform any of the other advanced techniques. But this had been enough.

Due to the opening that the distraction had provided him with, Kurama quickly brought one of the swords upward, cutting a straight line the more he advanced upwards towards Kurai's head.

The said dragon howled a piercing scream in extreme pain. He quickly flapped his wings in order to fly away from Kurama.

"You're not getting away!" screamed Naruto as Kurama readied another tail beat ball.

Kurai quickly opened his mouth as a black energy ball appeared which had the same appearance to that of the bijuu's strongest attack.

Both Kurama and Kurai shot their attacks at the same time. The end result was them impacting with each other which caused for another major explosion to occur.

The still down Shukaku growled in frustration as he felt some of the shockwave hit him.

Fu could only shield her eyes from the brightness that the impact had caused. She had been right after all. This wasn't a fight that she had a part in.

Shin looked down in anger as he saw an injured Kurai hit the ground. _**"Get up, will you! You're suppose to be invincible!"**_

Kurai gritted his teeth in frustration at his 'summoner' that was standing on top of his head. **"Why you….."**

"No one is invincible, Shin."

Looking in front of him, Shin quickly found himself coming face to face with one of the swords from Naruto's Susanoo.

Bringing his gunbai in front of him, Shin tried to use it in order to block against the sword but found that to be useless as the gigantic sword tore right through the weapon like it was nothing.

At the last second, Shin disappeared in a dark flash in order to not get stabbed by the sword as well as abandoned both the gunbai and Kurai.

On top of Kurama's head, Naruto looked down at Kurai. "It seems that you've been defeated, Kurai."

Kurai simply huffed. **"Whatever you say, Uzumaki. I was simply awaiting for you try to summon me so that I could see if you were truly worth retaining our summoning contract. But you never did. That's why I went along with that idiot's instructions. But it seems that you are worth to be our summoner, after all. If you don't die here today, that is."**

With that, Kurai disappear in a puff of smoke, returning back to the land of the dragons in order to rest and recover from his injuries.

Naruto simply looked at the spot where the dark dragon had been before looking up to the sky to see a flying and infuriated Shin.

Naruto smirked. "Shall we continue?"

* * *

><p>Mei could not believe what she was hearing as she ran behind Yagura, Utakata, and Roshi.<p>

The battle at the forest had been finished. With the arrival of Yagura and the units in his command, it had given them the final push that they needed in order to drive out the Iwa shinobi as well as the samurai.

After that had happened, the remainder of the Ame shinobi quickly took off towards Konoha in search for their leader, Mito.

A few minutes later, all three jinchuriki in front of her had held their heads as if they had a headache. But that was highly unlikely as they took off running towards Konoha the next moment. Ordering her shinobi to recover and regroup for the moment, Mei had seen no other choice but to follow behind them where she had demanded them to tell her what was going on which they did. And their explanation was what had surprised her. Not, surprised was an understatement.

"Just how-"

"We don't know, Mei," interrupted Yagura without turning to look at her. "All we know is that we have to get to Naruto's location as soon as possible."

Mei frowned. "And what will you do once you get there?"

Yagura also frowned, not that Mei could see it. "Like I said, I don't know. But what I do know is that it must be for something important…."

Isobu remained quiet, already knowing what was going to happen along with both Saiken and Son Goku.

Mei's frown still held in her beautiful face before she sighed. Once again, she had no choice but to see what was going to happen.

* * *

><p>"Raikage-sama, what are you-"<p>

"Don't give me that, Darui! Now where is that Uchiha!"

Darui took a step back from the enraged looking A. Currently they along with the surviving Kumo shinobi were still in forest surrounding Konoha, but they were not with the Kiri shinobi. And that was due to the order that their enraged Raikage had given them.

"Boss, I think you need to-"

A grabbed hold of Darui's neck. "I don't have time for this, Darui. I'll explain things to you later but as of right now, I have someone that I need to teach a lesson to."

Darui frowned at hearing this. Now this seemed more like the Raikage that he knew which confirmed his fears that something had indeed happened with him. But what? One thing was clear, however, and that was that Uchiha Mikoto had something to do with it.

Sighing, Darui responded, "I don't know where she is. The last time that I saw her, she was heading towards Konoha on top of the Gobi's head."

Looking towards the direction of Konoha, A retracted his hand away from Darui's neck. "Then that's where we need to go then. Give the order, Darui. We're going to Konoha."

Darui merely nodded as he walked away, intent on carrying out his orders. One thought did invade his mind, however.

'This situation is so dull…..'

* * *

><p>Shin could only look on in complete anger as he was forced to go on the defensive.<p>

Things were not going the way that he had planned for them to go. Instead of the victory that he was sure that he was going to achieve here today, he was instead losing.

Talk about getting your hopes destroyed….

Jumping back a good distance in order to dodge the swipe from one of the swords from Naruto's Susanoo, Shin shot a barrage of small fireballs straight towards the top of Kurama's head where Naruto stood.

Seeing this, Kurama quickly brought both of the swords that he now possessed in front of him, effectively blocking them. Less than a second later, he swung both swords forward, sending two large waves of dark energy from the swords.

Shin quickly brought both of his hands in front of him as he landed in a crouching position, repelling the attack with his rinnegan.

Standing up to his full height, Shin scowled. He had one more trick up his sleeve that he had yet to reveal. Of course, he hadn't expected to actually use it. By this time, he had thought that he would have killed Naruto, and that he would be in the process of sealing the bijuu into the Gedo Mazo.

His hands turned into fists. It was infuriating for him that he was losing right now. To Naruto of all people! Someone who he had always thought to be worthless and just simply a fake as to whom Uzumaki Naruto truly was. And that was him. He was Uzumaki Naruto. He was the rightful heir of the Rikudo Sennin. And he was the rightful jinchuriki for the Juubi. Not the person in front of him.

Shin soon readied and summoned every amount of chakra that he could muster. This would probably be his last attack. But if he managed to kill Naruto with it, then it didn't matter. He would simply go after the bijuu at a later date and then the world. But killing Naruto was his top priority right now. As far as he was concerned, nothing else mattered.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he felt something about Shin beginning to change. Not only that, but he could tell that Shin was gathering the remainder of his chakra. It was still a huge amount when compared to the average shinobi.

Suddenly without warning, gold glowing chains erupted into life from the ground all around him. The chains quickly wrapped themselves around Shin's body as well as his wings before the ends of the chains stuck back into the ground again, keeping Shin completely rooted to his spot.

Struggling to get free, Shin turned to the side to see none the than a kneeling Kushina who was responsible for the chains.

Shin narrowed his eyes. _**"You…."**_

From his spot, Naruto also saw Kushina's kneeling form. Surprise would be the first word that came to Naruto's mind before a small grin appeared on his lips before it vanished the next moment. A certain conversation replayed itself in his mind which caused for him to not say a word for the moment.

Turning his head to the other side, Shin then saw the approaching figures of Bee, Yugito, and Han running towards their location in the middle of the crater.

More frustration, stronger than before, began to flood all throughout Shin's being. He was in no mood to deal with any more annoyances at the moment. Well, besides Kushina that was. He had other plans for the redhead kunoichi.

Kurama smirked as he glanced at Kushina. **"About time you showed up, Kushina."**

If she was surprised at Kurama's current appearance, Kushina hid it well as she glanced at the Susanoo wearing bijuu for a moment before focusing fully on Shin who she held captive for the moment.

"There were some things that needed to be taken care of before I could get here."

Kurama simply turned to look at Shin as well. **"Better late than never, I suppose."**

Naruto for his part still didn't say a single word to Kushina who found this to be odd but decided to not comment on it at the moment. There was something else that needed to be taken care of first. And he was standing right in front of them.

Shin sighed as he calmed himself before looking at Kushina straight in the eyes. _**"I'm only going to give you one warning Kushina: don't interfere. Out of everyone here, you're the one that I don't want to kill. In fact,"**_ a smirk appeared on his face, _**"ditch these idiots and join me! You'll gain a lot more being with me rather than being with that fake up there!"**_

Kushina raised an eyebrow. "And what would I gain exactly? Because last time I heard that you wanted to completely destroy this world. I don't see what I could possibly be gaining from that other than a certain death. And since I have a second chance to live my life, I would rather do something more productive with it rather than simply work to destroy it myself again."

Shin frowned at the response. _**"You don't want to do this….."**_

Kushina shook her head. "You're talking to a woman that is as stubborn as they come. My mind has already been made up ever since I first woke up in Naruto's seal. I'm sticking with him. And you're mistaken on something else as well: he's not the fake. You are. And no matter what you do, that will never change."

Shin simply lowered his head, gritting his teeth together in anger. What Kushina had just told him hit him straight home. He didn't know why, but he had come to take a liking to the woman in front of him. In the past, if he had met her, he would have killed her in an instant along with Minato. But that had changed. Shin didn't know how. Perhaps it had something to do with his bonding with Naruto who cared deeply for her. But now, even that had been denied to him and by Naruto himself as well. Really, Shin was almost certain that some supreme being hated his guts. His poor existence was proof of that.

Bee, Yugito, and Han came to a halt a good distance away from Shin's position, knowing full well what was currently taking place. It was the moment of truth for them. They didn't know why exactly they were here at the moment, but all three of them knew that they would know that soon enough.

_**"Very well then…."**_

The golden chains that were still wrapped around Shin were repelled in an instant, sending Kushina back to the ground on her back with a loud thud.

Shin looked at her with anger. _**"If that's the case, then I will kill you first."**_

**"You're forgetting something!"**

Shin brought both of his hands forward as Kurama brought the Susanoo swords down upon him. Using his rinnegan, Shin tried to repel them but found the task to be difficult. Kurama possessed massive strength.

Naruto quickly used this opening to his advantage as he jumped down from Kurama's head and down towards Shin's location.

Both sensing and seeing this, Shin began to gather his chakra once more as he prepared to do his final technique. In the current situation that he was, it was almost certain that he would die as well since the jutsu required intense concentration. But if it meant killing Naruto, then he would do it gladly.

Naruto brought the Seikatsugakari in front of him as he sensed the concentration of Shin's chakra once more.

Shin had a twisted grin as a bright light engulfed his form completely.

Both Naruto and Kurama knew what Shin was trying to do at the moment. And they both knew that it would not end well for those in the area.

Bee, Yugito, and Han covered their eyes with their hands in order to shield them from the bright light. So caught up in this that they did not notice their respective bijuu's chakra surrounding their forms.

Yagura, Utakata, and Roshi, who were running towards where the fighting was taking place, also shielded their eyes from the light with only Yagura noticing that he was surrounded in Isobu's chakra as well as Mei who was running behind them.

'Isobu…what's going on?'

**"It's time…."**

Bringing every available energy that the Seikatsugakari still held within itself as well as even adding energy from his own soul, Naruto took the attack head on. The energy from the Seikatsugakari clashed with the incoming explosion that resulted from Shin releasing the remainder of his chakra out of his body in a violent manner. The energy that was created from this chaotic release was what just caused the massive explosion. Shin's chakra was that toxic and unstable once it was freed from his body.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he fought to push the explosion back. This was the last thing that he remembered before everything went black.

* * *

><p>No explosion. No crater. No Konoha. Nothing.<p>

Opening his eyes, the only thing that Naruto saw was well….nothing really. He was just standing in an empty and black room. Or well, what he thought was a room anyways. There were no windows present neither were there any doors.

"Peculiar place, isn't it?"

Recognizing the voice immediately, Naruto turned around in an instant, coming face to face with the last person that he would have imagined. Okay, maybe not the last, but it was still surprising.

"Mikoto?"

One Uchiha Mikoto smirked as she looked at Naruto with the same twinkle of playfulness present in her black eyes like when she had been looking at the burning village of Konoha.

"The one and only."

Naruto shook his head as if he was trying to get rid of something. And that something was Mikoto's form.

Seeing this, Mikoto pouted. "What? Aren't you happy to see me?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion. "It's not that. It's just that I didn't expect to see you here. Well, wherever here is….."

Mikoto chuckled. "So you don't know yet, eh?"

Naruto raised another eyebrow. "Know what?"

Mikoto sighed as she closed her eyer for a couple of seconds before she opened them, looking straight at Naruto. "I'm dead, Naruto."

Naruto simply looked right back at her. "What kind of game are you playing?"

"She's not playing a game, Naruto. She's dead, and so are we."

All around him, familiar faces appeared around both Naruto and Mikoto. Mito, who was the one that had responded Naruto's question, Obito, Sasuke, Neji, and Itachi.

"You guys…."

Neji chuckled at Naruto's shocked look. "I didn't think that I would see that look on your face…."

Sasuke for his part smirked. "I agree with you on that, Neji. What's the matter, dobe? After everything you've learned and seen so far, do you really think that this is the most shocking out of all of them?"

Itachi nodded. "My foolish little brother is right."

Obito brought both of his hands behind his head with a small grin on his face. "Like Itachi said, Sasuke is right. We're here, talking to you even though we're already dead. Just deal with it and move on, will you?"

Naruto came out of his shock and t'ched. "What? Everyone is shocked at some point, you know."

Mito chuckled. "Yes, you're right about that. But that's not why we're here."

Naruto sighed as he looked at every single one of their faces. "Since Neji, Obito, and Itachi are here, I guess it must be true." Looking at the other three, Naruto sighed again. "So you three died too, eh?"

Sasuke smirked again. "What? Are you actually sad about that?"

It was then that Mikoto elbowed her youngest son in the stomach which knocked the wind out of him.

Looking at Naruto with a small smile, Mikoto said, "I think what Sasu-chan is trying to say but lacks the capacity in doing so is that you don't need to blame yourself, Naruto. I'm pretty sure that we're all here in this position because we want it that way."

Hearing this coming out from Mikoto's lips, Obito looked at the only female Uchiha present indigently. "What was that!? Then why did you try to strangle me to death again when you first saw me then!?"

Mikoto whistled innocently while looking away. "I don't know what you're talking about…."

Obito narrowed his eyes. "Why you…."

Clearing her throat, Mito continued where Mikoto had left off, "Like Mikoto was saying, we're all here by choice. We had already fulfilled what we were trying to accomplish."

Naruto frowned as he looked at Neji.

Seeing this, Neji nodded. "Yeah, even me." Reaching towards his Konoha headband, Neji took it off as well as the bandages underneath, revealing his forehead with no seal present. "Thanks to you, I'm now free. I no longer feel as I were trapped inside of a cage. The choices that I made may not have been the best, but in the end, I don't care. Right or wrong, I chose to follow you through my own free will. That's what I truly wanted. To know that I was the one in control of my life….well, now I have it. Even if I'm now dead."

Naruto closed his eyes at hearing that. "I see…."

Mikoto then took hold of Naruto's hands with her, bringing them in between them.

Sasuke simply sighed slightly at the sight, recognizing the look that his mother currently wore. 'So…there really was something going on between them….'

Itachi had no reaction.

"The Uchiha will no longer be needed in the new world," stated Mikoto softly. "I've already seen the state that the village is in. Even though it wouldn't have been bad to be standing at your side in the end, I'm content with this."

"She's right," Obito said as he pointed at Mikoto. "Even though I'm not a fan of the shinobi world that we were born in, it was all that I knew of. I don't think that I would have been able to adapt to the new world that will come about as a result of this."

"The new world," repeated Naruto in a soft tone.

"Surely you must know as to what the end result will be of all of this," said Mito as she rejoined the conversation. "The shinobi world is finished."

"And perhaps a better one will take its place," continued Itachi.

Sasuke shrugged. "I highly doubt that, but who knows? Maybe it will happen that way."

Naruto simply chuckled. He didn't really know what to say at the moment. But what he could say? Because he couldn't really find anything.

Mikoto retracted her hands as she took several steps back, looking at Naruto with a smile before she brought both of her sons and Obito together within her arms.

"You don't have to worry about us now. We're together now. And in the end, that's all that we really care about."

Neji simply sent Naruto a small wave. "Good luck."

Mito nodded her head at her fellow Uzumaki. "I wish you good luck as well. And don't forget to thank the Shinigami when you get the chance. It was thanks to him that we were able to talk to you one final time."

Naruto simply nodded at them in return before they all disappeared in a bright flash which blinded him for the moment.

* * *

><p><strong>"Brat! Oi, stupid silver haired brat! Wake the hell up!"<strong>

Said 'brat' opened his eyes after having have had closed them due to the bright flash in which the others had disappeared in.

Opening his eyes, Naruto found himself in another different place which was clearly not the real world. For one, Naruto had already been here before when he had talked to all of the bijuu in Ame. It was the place only accessible to the bijuu and their respective jinchuriki. Unlike last time, though, the jinchuriki themselves were present save for Gaara.

Fu looked around in surprise. "What is this?" The last thing that she remembered had been the explosion that had been generated from Shin releasing his chakra in an explosive manner.

**"This is the sanctum for us bijuu,"** answered Chomei who stood behind her. **"Although we ourselves haven't used it for many years."**

Gyuki hmph'ed at this. **"That would be yours and Kyuubi's fault. You two have always been the loners out of all of us."**

Seeing a fight beginning to occur, Son Goku decided to intervene. **"None of us can point fingers at anyone else. Truth of the matter is that we all lost ourselves. After the Rikudo Sennin died, we all left towards different paths and decided to abandon the each other instead of remaining together like the Sennin had hoped."**

Isobu hummed in agreement to that.

'So there was also bad blood between the bijuu as well, is that it?' thought Naruto as he observed this before glancing at Kurama who stood behind him. Said bijuu was simply watching this silently as well. 'There certainly is more to the bijuu than we humans thought….'

Of course, that was something that Naruto had learned ever since he ditched Jiraiya all those three years ago. Bijuu weren't simple mindless beast….well, Shukaku came close but still. They actually possessed a rational mind like humans did as well as individual names.

Naruto smirked slightly at that. 'No doubt it was the Sennin's way of trying to make them realize that they simply weren't just parts of the bijuu but individual beings. Not that I disagree with him either. But then again, he _is _me, so I guess that I'm sort of responsible for that as well…fuck it, I shouldn't dwell on that. I can't let the others' death be for nothing.'

'So is this what we were suppose to do?' thought Yagura. 'Or is it something else….?'

**"Time in this world is different from that of the real world,"** stated Isobu. **"Not to mention the explosion that that dark chakra entity created that will surely buy us some time. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't wrap things up here as quickly as possible."**

The other bijuu nodded in agreement save for Shukaku.

**"Oi, what exactly are you talking about?"**

Kurama sighed. **"So you've forgotten, have you?"**

Yugito stepped up. "Hold on. Just what exactly is going on here? And why are we here?" Of course, she was referring to the jinchuriki themselves.

**"It will all become clear soon enough, kitten,"** answered Matatabi behind her. There was a tint of sadness in the bijuu when those words were uttered which made Yugito look behind her to gaze at her bijuu.

Han for his part merely brought one of his hands to the red straw hat that he wore, lowering it slightly in order to shadow his eyes.

Kokuo saw this but didn't comment. He could already tell what his host was thinking.

Bee hummed a tune to himself as he looked around. "The bond between the jinchuriki and the bijuu is a wonderful thing, yo!"

Chomei sighed. **'I believe he said something like that before….'**

Gyuki and Matatabi simply chuckled.

Utakata looked at Naruto. "So? You're the apparent boss here. Why are we here?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm in the same boat as you. But I think I know someone who will tell us what this is all about." He turned around in order to face Kurama, indicating that he was talking about him.

Kurama was silent for a few moments before he answered, **"I'll get straight to it then. This deals with a certain friend of ours that needs to be dealt with now."**

Naruto faced the other jinchuriki, already knowing as to whom Kurama was referring to. But it did raise the question as to just how exactly they were going to accomplish that.

**"Don't beat around the bush, Kyuubi,"** stated Saiken. **"There's still that dark entity outside that needs to be killed as well."**

Kurama glanced at him in slight annoyance. **"I'm trying to butter this up! What is required from them isn't exactly easy!"**

Naruto smiled. "Funny. I never would have thought that you would ever say something like that out loud, Kurama…."

Kurama opened his mouth to retort but closed it a moment after, finding nothing to say.

Roshi raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'what is required'?"

Behind him, Son Goku sighed. **"It's simple, Roshi. We're going to have to become one in order to defeat the Juubi once and for all."**

"The Juubi!?" repeated Yugito in shock. "What are you-"

**"He's right, kitten,"** interrupted Matatabi. **"Without all of us, Naruto wouldn't stand a chance. Even with the rinnegan."**

"But how did the Rikudo Sennin defeated it in the past then?" asked Yagura.

**"He sealed it,"** Isobu responded. **"That's not what we're trying to accomplish here right now. We're trying to eradicate it once and for all so that it will have no hope of ever returning again."**

Fu looked at Naruto. "And for that, he's going to need our help?"

Chomei nodded. **"Yes. And with that sword on his back as well."**

Naruto brought the Seikatsugakari in front of him, looking at the sword in surprise. "How exactly is this going to-"

_**"I asked you before if you wanted to use my real power….well, this is the other half of it."**_

'Glad to hear from you again,' responded Naruto.

_**"I'm just simply shy is all. But I already know what your bijuu buddy is planning. And he's right in doing so. This is the only way in which the Juubi's will would be completely eradicated completely, leaving behind only its power."**_

'And what way is that exactly?'

_**"Like I've said, this is the other part of my power that the Sennin designed except that it's never been used before since I have a feeling that the Sennin created it only for this purpose."**_

'Just get on with it.'

_**"My power is that of soul absorption. The more souls I consume, the stronger I become and the more power that you receive. After I have consumed enough souls, my wielder receives the 'third eye.' With this, any genjutsu and the sort are ineffective. But you've already done that."**_

That was true. When Naruto had fought Ibiki, he had broken through the interrogator's illusion like it was nothing. And without Kurama's help either.

_**"That is one part. The other, however, deals with chakra. But only one specific type of chakra….."**_

Realization began to sink in. 'The chakra of a bijuu….'

_**"Exactly. The Juubi no longer possesses a real body. Only if you let it free can it once again materialize a body for itself. But as of right now, all it has is its chakra and its will. But with me, you can destroy its will, leaving behind only its chakra for yourself."**_

If there was one thing that Naruto had learned all these years, it was that when things sounded too good to be true, that was due to the fact that it was. There was always a catch inserted in there somewhere.

'If this truly is possible, then why didn't the Rikudo Sennin used this method instead of sealing the Juubi?'

_**"I've already given you the answer to that. My other power can only be activated once I absorb the chakra of a bijuu. The more that I have, the stronger that I become. But the Sennin didn't have this available to him in his time. If he were to have had used this method, he would have had to collect the chakra that the Juubi left behind after it went on its rampages. But it would have taken years for him to collect the necessary amount of chakra that it is required in order to destroy the Juubi's will."**_

'I see…..and how much chakra is required exactly?'

There was no response for a few moments. Finally, the sentient sword answered.

_**"In the case of the Juubi, a huge amount would be needed. Its will is bonded that strong to its power. Much more than that of the Kyuubi's will with his chakra."**_

'Don't beat around the bush. Just answer the question.'

_**"The necessary amount required is equal to that of all of the chakra of the bijuu combined."**_

'And what exactly will happen to them in return?'

_**"That's a stupid question, and you know it. The bijuu are simply chakra with a conscious. Once all of it is taken from them, they will disappear since they don't posses a body either since they're sealed. Well, except the Ichibi that is. But with how weakened he is, he will no doubt disappear as well."**_

'And the other jinchuriki?'

_**"Another stupid question. Really, asking me is not going to change what will happen to them."**_

'They're going to die….'

_**"Exactly. It would be the same as if their bijuu were extracted. The end result is death. That applies to you as well. Your only salvation will be the chakra that will be left behind by the Juubi. It will no doubt replace that of the Kyuubi's."**_

And there it was. The catch. The Juubi would be finally gone but at the cost of the lives of the others.

_**"And don't think that you can escape this either. With how things are, the Juubi could one day become free. In your past life, it took every single ounce of your willpower to keep the Juubi at bay. The only reason that you haven't had any difficulty is that you have sealed it in the deepest corner of your subconscious. That and that it is also not at full strength just yet. But once it is, it will start to fight back since you have no doubt annoyed it. Well, as far as I've gathered so far that is. This is the best choice."**_

Naruto knew that. It wouldn't take a genius to realize that either. The Juubi was simply too much of a threat to leave it alone like that. The destruction of Konoha had taken Naruto's mind off that problem, but then what? That was now done with. Like the Seikatsugakari said, there was a possibility of it escaping one day. And that would bring too many consequences that Naruto would rather not deal with.

Focusing back in the current space that he and the rest of the jinchuriki occupied, Naruto came face to face with many worried looks.

"Are you all right?" asked Fu as she took a step forward towards him. "You suddenly spaced out on us."

**"He was simply learning of what is needed to be done,"** stated Kurama from behind him.

Yagura looked at Naruto with a curious look. "Is that so? I would ask how, but there is no time for that. So? What do we need to do?"

Naruto sighed silently before his face became devoid of emotions. "I'm simply going to take back what I gave you."

Utakata t'ched. "Stop talking in riddles. Just come out with it."

But Yagura understood immediately along with all of the bijuu.

Fu looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "Just what do you mean?"

"I guess I should clarify myself," he began. "In order to deal with the Juubi, I'm going to require the chakra of all of the bijuu combined."

Yugito crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And? That doesn't sound too hard."

Roshi glanced at her before turning his eyes towards Naruto. "How much chakra from each bijuu do you need anyways?"

"All of it."

'So that's what he meant,' thought Yagura as he closed his eyes. Not that it mattered to him. He had never wanted to live again. Not after what he had done when he had first been alive. But taking the opportunity that this chance had presented him with, he had tried to amend some of the mistakes that he had done.

Of course, he knew that he couldn't fix every single one of them. There were just simply too many of them. Not to mention all of the misery that his actions had caused. Of course, one could argue that he had simply been manipulated into causing all of that misery, but Yagura still felt responsible. If only he had been stronger, he could have fought back and prevented all of that pain from occurring. But that was just simply a wish that would never be granted.

Utakata's eyes were wide in shock. "Oi, oi, if you take all of their chakra, then we will die!"

Naruto didn't even flinch. "I know."

Yugito for her part frowned. "And just why do you expect for us to do that? I know that you resurrected some of us here, but I'm not one of them. The only reason I'm here is that Raikage-sama ordered me to be. There's nothing more than that."

Bee was merely silent.

"I'll do it."

All heads turned toward Han's direction who had been the one that had said that. Those words had also been the first ones that he had said so far.

Roshi looked at his partner in surprise. "Han, you can't-"

"I told you," interrupted Han in a soft tone, "that I now follow Naruto. The whole reason that I'm even here today is because of him. I know that he had his reasons for even bringing me back in the first place. But I don't care. I already made up my mind."

Roshi sighed as he looked away. 'I shouldn't be too surprised….but he has a point. Like the brat said, he's simply taking back what he gave me. Heh, never thought that I would do this. I guess being around Han too much has affected me too.'

Roshi looked straight at Naruto. "I'll do it as well.''

**'That's two then,'** thought Kurama as he observed all of this before looking down at Naruto. **'Well then, brat, how are you going to convince the others?'**

Yagura took a step forward. "I'll do it too. Like you said, you're simply taking back what you gave me. Besides, there's nothing left for me to do in this life any longer."

Utakata looked at Yagura in surprise, much like how Roshi had done with Han.

Seeing this, Yagura smiled. "Don't worry about it. This is my choice. After everything that I did….maybe this will help atone for that."

Utakata merely sighed, his mind going back to Hotaru. If she were here, it would have been so easy for him to have had said to hell with all of this. But that was not the case. Like Yagura said, the whole reason he was even here right now was due to Naruto. And unlike last time, Utakata knew that Hotaru was in safe hands in Kiri. No matter how much he disliked the place, even he had to admit that Mei was doing a very good job at running the village.

So with not much enthusiasm present, Utakata muttered, "Fine. I guess that I'm in too."

Yugito looked at the ones that had agreed with wide eyes. "You can't be serious! How can all of you-"

"Yugito."

Yugito looked towards Bee.

Bee looked right back at her with a grin on his face. "You shouldn't question them, yo! They all have their reasons for choosing this. But they did it of their own free will. And that is something that you cannot take away from them despite being jinchuriki, hooray!"

Yugito t'ched as she looked away. She knew that Bee was right. But that didn't mean that she liked it. When one became a jinchuriki, that person lost many things. But one of the few things that the person could keep was his free will. The act of choosing whatever the hell it was that they wanted to do, be it to help his village prosper or not. But the choice was still there. And that was exactly what the others had done.

Matatabi simply looked down at her, understanding present in his eyes. He understood why Yugito was so against this. It was due to the fact that she felt as if her life was chosen for her. Growing up in Bee's shadow, Yugito had tried for the villagers in Kumo to recognize her as an individual person, not just as 'the other jinchuriki.' It was thanks to Bee that she was even treated fairly by the remanding populace. Everything that she had accomplished was simply viewed as others as something that was only possible because of Bee. And she hated that.

Fu looked at Naruto who was not making eye contact with her. Bringing both of her shaking fists to her side, Fu took slow breaths in order to calm herself. She didn't understand why Naruto was behaving like this. He did possess a contract with the Shinigami in which he could bring back the dead completely and not partially like with the Edo Tensei. If the others knew this, then this wouldn't be too hard. Right?

_**"You can't avoid it, Uzumaki. They should know that I will also consume their souls in the process, making it impossible for them to return to the land of the living again even with that contract of yours. That is the price for using this power."**_

But of course, Naruto already knew that. Or suspected it at the very least. That was why he couldn't look at Fu. He knew that there would be deaths. It was only natural. Things never go down perfectly no matter how long one spent preparing for them. That was just a fact. The others had died by different causes, all of which had nothing to do with him whatsoever. But with Fu, he was basically killing her.

**"Don't be so unsure about this,"** stated Son Goku in a gruff voice, speaking directly to Yugito. **"Do you really believe that you're the only one here that doesn't want to die? But our deaths are necessary for the future to not be so bleak as it otherwise would be."**

Yugito opened her mouth to retort but closed it immediately after. She didn't really know what to say.

Bee glanced at her for a moment before pointing both of his thumbs at himself. "Well, count the Bee in!"

"What!" Yugito exclaimed as she looked at him with a shocked look. "What will Raikage-sama say-"

"He can't say anything," interrupted Bee with another grin. "It's my own choice. Big bro has been trying to keep me safe for many years now but in the process made me lose one of the few things that I have as a jinchuriki."

"Free will…." muttered Yugito.

Bee nodded. "You hit it in one, kitty! I was simply locked up in the village like a weapon that was needed at the moment. I couldn't do anything. I was like a beast locked up in a cage. But not anymore. Maybe I'm just doing this to rebel." Bee shrugged. "Who knows? But I'm still going through with it!"

Behind him, Gyuki shook his head. **'You never change Bee….but that's for the best, I suppose.'**

Yugito lowered her head, not knowing what to say at the moment. She knew that she was alone. Despite not having said a word, Yugito knew that Fu was with Naruto as well.

Seeing this, Naruto walked forward to where Yugito currently stood. Stopping in front of her, Naruto brought one of his hands towards the kunoichi's chin, effectively raising her head up in order for her to look at him.

"I can understand why you're hesitant," began Naruto calmly, "but you should also understand that I'm not like the rest. I'm a jinchuriki just like you. I know what it's like to be viewed as something else, as a monster and not human. I know that you don't want to be used by anyone for his personal gain. And I'm telling you now that that is not my intention. I didn't know that this would be how things would go. I promise you that. I'm also not forcing you to do anything. I'm asking you if you could please help me in this. I know it's a big thing to ask for considering that it's your life. I'll understand if you say no as well. But I just wanted for you to know that I don't consider you a tool. To me, you're as much of a free individual as anyone else as well as every other person in this, including the bijuu themselves. We all have a mind of our own. But I'm asking: will you please help us?"

Despite herself, Yugito started to enjoy the feeling that Naruto's hand resting on her chin brought her. It was silly really, but that didn't concern her in the slightest.

"What will happen if I do?"

"I don't know," answered Naruto honestly, "but I'll do everything I can to make sure that your sacrifice along with everyone else's isn't in vain. You have my word."

If the 'rational' Yugito was in control, she would have said that a simple promise didn't mean much in the world that they lived in. But that Yugito was not present in the moment. She had left the building, in a matter of sense.

Yugito sighed silently. "I'll do it…."

Naruto nodded in gratitude, stepping away from her as he went to stand back in his spot. Yugito already missed the feeling of Naruto's hand before she refocused herself. That was now impossible. If she had made up her mind sooner, then things between them could have been better. But now, it was too late.

Fu walked up to Naruto, wrapping her arms around him in order to bring him into a tight hug.

Kurama looked at the others. **"It's decided then. We will all now return to the real world to finish this."**

The other bijuu besides Chomei nodded, disappearing along with their respective jinchuriki except for Fu.

"Something is troubling you, isn't it?" asked Fu.

Naruto sighed. "So you can tell, huh?"

Fu pulled her head back in order to look at him. "Yeah. You're not as confident as you have been before all of this. Just what's troubling you?"

Naruto sighed again before he kissed the girl in front of him in the cheek. "This is good-bye, Fu. We won't see each other again."

Fu simply stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"In exchange for the Seikatsugakari using its power in order to destroy the Juubi's will, your soul, along with the others, will be consumed in the process which means that the Shinigami will never get them. So-"

"You won't be able to revive us," finished Fu in a whisper.

Naruto nodded silently. "Exactly."

Fu smiled despite knowing what was to become of her. "So that's why you're like this, eh?" She let out a small fits of giggles. "Really, I never would have imagined."

Naruto frowned. "This isn't a laughing matter, you know."

Fu shook her head. "Maybe for you it isn't. But do you know the thing that I want the most in the world?"

Naruto was silent, not knowing the answer.

But Fu already knew this. After all, she hadn't told this to anyone, not even Chomei. "The thing that I want, or wanted, is for someone to have had loved me for myself. Not for being a jinchuriki or any other reason. Just for me being the girl that I am. And you gave me that."

Naruto looked away, not knowing what to say.

Fu smiled as she retracted her arms from around him, stepping back and towards where Chomei stood.

"I love you."

Naruto's widened but before he could say something, Fu disappeared along with Chomei.

Kurama merely looked towards his host. **"It's time, Naruto." **This was also a goodbye for the two of them. But they didn't need to say anything to each other. They already knew what the other was thinking and feeling. And that was enough. No words needed to be said.

Naruto closed his eyes as he brought the Seikatsugakari in front of him.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

><p>The Juubi snarled as it looked around the empty space where it currently stood, or well floated. It could faintly feel what was happening out there in the real world. Mainly, the confrontation between Naruto and Shin.<p>

With this information, it had been trying to find a way to weaken the human that it currently resided in. In the beginning, the Juubi hadn't minded being sealed inside Naruto. It was curious about the young Uzumaki. Mainly, the path that he was going down in. But that curiosity had died in the Land of Iron when it was clearly shown to the Juubi that Naruto was not going to be intimidated by it or its power.

But no matter what it tried, the Juubi couldn't find a way to weaken Naruto's mind so that it could try to escape. It was clear to the Juubi at this point that the reason Naruto had sealed it so far deep into his empty part of his deep subconscious was so that the Juubi couldn't use any of his memories or the sort against him. This place was completely empty save for itself.

The Juubi snarled again. **'I cannot allow for a simple human to contain me. But I must have patience. Just like with the Rikudo Sennin, I will brake of this prison and finally be free once again!'**

Its thoughts were cut short when the Juubi sensed a familiar presence entering the devoid area.

Looking in front of it, the Juubi came face to face with Naruto who had appeared out of nothingness, the Seikatsugakari in his hands.

The Juubi immediately recognized the sword, making it snarl yet again. **"So you now even have that sword, do you? But you're foolish if you think that that will stop me! Your predecessor tried the same thing and he failed! What makes you think that you will succeed?"**

Naruto simply smirked. "Because unlike how I was in the past, I didn't have anyone else at my side. But now it's different, Juubi. Because of you, things are the way that they are today. So now, I will end you."

**"Oh? And who are you to lecture me, brat? You're no better than I am!"**

Naruto merely shrugged. "I've heard that countless of times before and my response is still the same: I don't care! No matter what you say, it won't change things now. I'm already set as to where I want to go."

The Juubi snarled for another time. **"Do you really believe that you will defeat me?"**

Naruto smirked again. "I already told you: I do. You're the one that is too overconfident here. All around us, this empty space, it's all part of me."

Naruto raised his freed hand. "You might be a god, but here in my mind, I make the rules! I'm the god here!"

Less than a second later, the Juubi soon found its entire body pushed down by torii gates.

The Juubi gritted its large teeth as it looked at the approaching Naruto with its single massive eye. **"Why you…."**

Naruto narrowed his rinnegan activated eyes at the bijuu in front of him, a dark smirk on his face. "As a sentiment shared by my counterpart, it's my deepest regret that I'll only be able to do this once. This is it for you, Juubi."

The Juubi let out a massive roar filled with anger as it tried to break from the torii gates, its single eye looking straight at Naruto who was stood in front of it and raised the Seikatsugakari.

Without another word, Naruto brought the Seikatsugakari down upon the beast's head, its entire blade covered in a crimson aura which quickly spread out completely throughout the Juubi's form.

The Juubi let out another massive roar, this time in extreme pain, however. It was the first time in thousands of years that it had felt such pain.

Naruto for his part gritted his teeth as he pushed every ounce of the combined power of the bijuu into the beast in front of him before letting out a scream.

Then, it all went quiet.

* * *

><p>Kushina lowered her hands from her face as the massive light from the explosion caused by Shin began to die down, slowly but steadily.<p>

'Just what happened?' thought Kushina as she stood up, looking around her carefully.

Quickly spinning around, Kushina came face to face with a worried looking Mei.

Kushina lowered her guard slightly at seeing the familiar redhead. "Mei."

Mei walked up towards Kushina, looking at her straight in the eyes. "What's going on! Yagura and the others disappeared into ashes!"

Kushina looked at her with a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

Before Mei could answer, laughter was heard from within the center of where the explosion had occurred. The location was obscured by a large cloud of dust that was still present in the area, however. But Kushina recognized the laugh immediately.

Mei looked towards the direction of where the laugh was coming from. "And who might that be?"

Kushina frowned as she turned towards the direction of the laugh. "Trouble."

Soon, the cloud of dust disappeared, revealing a laughing Shin who still had his level two curse mark active and without his left arm and with a hole present in his stomach.

Mei could not believe what she was seeing. "Just how is he still alive?"

"Because he's not human," answered Kushina without any hesitation.

Mei merely frowned at the response. Then just what exactly was the individual in front of them?

Shin continued to laugh despite the fact that a large amount of his blood was flowing down from both his arm and from the hole present in his stomach.

_**"FINALLY! I KILLED HIM! HE'S DEAD!"**_

Kushina's eyes widened when she realized who Shin was talking about. Looking around her, Kushina found that Kurama was not present any longer. Neither was Fu or Shukaku or any of the others that had arrived for that matter.

'This can't be…..'

"I would think about that twice if I were you."

Shin's eyes widened in both shock and anger when he heard the voice coming from behind him. _**"This can't be….."**_

Behind him stood an unharmed Naruto who currently had the Seikatsugakari in his hand and placed on Shin's shoulder.

Looking behind him, Shin gritted his teeth in anger. _**"Just how are you even alive?"**_

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I can say the same to you. But my guess is that it has something to do with curse mark of yours. Well, not that it matters anymore because you're going to die now."

Despite the situation, Shin smirked. _**"Is that so? I think we've already established that that little sword of yours isn't going to affect me."**_

Naruto smirked in return. "You're right. But you're forgetting that this sword of mine is still a sword in the end. Even without its power, if I just cut your head off, I'm pretty sure that even you would die. Aren't I right?"

Shin's smirk disappeared with that. His rinnegan flared as he made to continue fighting Naruto despite the fact that he now longer had an arm and the hole on his stomach due to his lack of control in releasing his chakra into an explosion.

But Naruto didn't give him the chance to try to fight back. With one swift movement, Naruto successfully beheaded the individual in front of him without a single ounce of remorse.

The last expression on Shin's face was that of anger as it fell to the ground beside the now beheaded body that fell on its front. Both the body and the head began to wither and dissipate into a dark gas, quickly evaporating up to the darkening sky.

Naruto sighed as he placed the Seikatsugakari on his back, looking up to the sky to gaze at the disappearing gas that had once made up Shin's body.

'All of that….and this is how it ends, eh?'

Naruto laughed without any humor as he closed his eyes. 'After all of that….what am I suppose to do now?'

"Naruto!"

Naruto looked to the side to see a running Kushina heading towards him with Mei right behind her. Before he could try and stop her, Kushina engulfed Naruto into a hug, tears running down her cheek.

"I thought that I had lost you…."

Naruto simply remained quiet, not knowing what to say. This was due to the fact as to his questioning as to why he had even forgiven the woman that was currently crying on his shoulder. She was as guilty as his father had been. And she hadn't even said a single word of apology either. This questioning was due to the Seikatsugakari asking him the very same thing: why did he forgive his mother?

Mei simply stepped back, allowing for mother and son to enjoy a small moment of happy reunion.

After a few moments, Mei looked towards the direction of where the Hokage Mountain should have been only to find it heavily damaged. All of the faces of the Hokages were badly disfigured somehow.

'I guess this is it….' thought Mei before something else came to mind. Just what had happened to Yagura and the rest?

The three shinobi quickly looked up to the sky to see Moukaryuu making his way down towards him, carrying two passengers on his back.

Kushina released Naruto from the hug in order to look at who Moukaryuu was transporting.

"So you two made it then," commented Kushina with a small smile.

One Mitarashi Anko smirked as she jumped off of Moukaryuu's head after said dragon had landed on the ground.

Landing on the ground, Anko pointed at herself. "I'm just too awesome to die."

Moukaryuu snorted. **"Awesome my ass….you wouldn't stop screaming at my fellow dragons to bring you back here after you had reawakened."**

Anko simply waved her hand in dismissal. "There's no reason to focus in the details, is there? At any rate, it seems that you won, gaki!" she finished with a grin.

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I did…."

The other passenger sighed as she jumped off and landed next to Anko. "You don't sound too excited you know…."

Naruto turned his back on her. "And what makes you say that, Fuka?"

Fuka raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. "Forget I said anything."

Kushina looked at Naruto's back with a frown. "She's right, though. Just what's troubling you?"

Naruto was silent for a few moments before finally answering, "I'm just trying to understand as to where you and I stand. We're certainly not a regular mother and son, that's for sure."

Kushina's frown remained. 'So this is what this is about….well, now is a good as time as any, I suppose.'

Walking towards her son, Kushina placed her hand on his shoulder after she had gotten closed enough, turning him around to look at her.

"You're right. We're not a normal mother and son. That relationship left the table quite a while ago. I also understand that there are many things that need to be resolve between you and me, mainly the fact that I was also responsible for the life that you had. There's really nothing that I can do to change the past, so it all really comes down to you. If you can find it in yourself to forgive me. But before that, this was long overdue, but….."

Quickly wrapping her arms around Naruto again, Kushina held him close to her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being there with you. For not having been able to give you the love that you rightly deserve. For not being there with you as you grew up. For not stopping Minato in going through with his plan…I'm so sorry."

Naruto was silent for a few moments before he returned the hug, wrapping his arms around the now crying woman. Truth of the matter was that he had already forgiven her. Since the moment that she had agreed to join him, that had been the case. The trouble that he had faced was the _why_. And despite what he had told Gaara, the why did matter. After hearing her apology, Naruto didn't have anymore doubt that he had made the right choice in forgiving her. While others could disagree, all he had to say was for them to go to hell. Plain and simple.

Watching this, Anko grinned as she spread her arms wide around her. "Well, would you look at that! Chaos really does bring out the good in people!"

Next to her, Fuka sweatdropped. "Psychotic much?"

Mei smiled for a moment before she asked the question that had been in her mind, "As heartwarming as this is, just what exactly happened to the others?"

Pulling away from Kushina, Naruto glanced at Mei's direction. "They sacrificed themselves in order for me to win this."

Mei frowned at the response. Sacrifice how?

"That's right!" Kushina took a couple of steps back as she quickly wiped the tears from her face, looking around the next moment. "Where's Miko-chan and the others?"

"They're also dead."

Kushina looked at Naruto who had answered. "What?"

Naruto sighed. "Yeah, everyone else who isn't here is now dead."

Kushina's eyes were wide. "But how!"

**"By choice."**

The others turned to look at Moukaryuu who had answered. **"The Uchiha died by choice. I could have saved them before killing that snake bastard, but it seemed that even they had had enough of this world…."**

Fuka closed her eyes. "The same with Mito….."

'And Neji as well as both Obito and Itachi,' thought Naruto, putting aside the fact that Orochimaru had indeed tried to do something. The snake Sennin was no longer an issue.

Kushina also closed her eyes, a small smile on her face. "I see….in the end, though, they went out by choice at least." She too pushed the 'snake bastard' comment aside. She knew that Naruto would fill her in later.

Before anything else could continue, the arrival of the remainder of the forces from Kumo halted Naruto and the others.

'Ah, so the genjutsu has been undone then,' thought Naruto with a bored look. Not that it mattered. Kumo was no longer useful.

The Raikage stepped forward, walking from somewhere within his forces. "Uzumaki!"

Naruto simply looked right back at him. "What?"

A pointed a finger at him with an enraged look on his face. "You will pay for the embarrassment that you have put me through!"

Naruto chuckled. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it Mikoto who placed you in a genjutsu?"

Mei silently gasped at the information, glancing at Kushina for confirmation only to see the redhead looking straight at A.

A growled. "Don't worry about that. After I'm through with you, I'm going to go after her."

Naruto looked at A in obvious amusement. 'Well, he's the best test subject that I'll be able to find, so why not?'

A activated his lightning cloak as the rest of the Kumo shinobi behind him readied themselves.

Talking a couple of steps forward, Naruto glanced behind him toward the others, "Don't interfere."

A hmph'ed. "Quite cocky, aren't you?"

Naruto didn't respond.

Seeing this, A rushed at Naruto with the rest of the shinobi following behind him.

Naruto didn't even flinch as A appeared right in front of him in an instant with his fist coming towards him.

At the last second, A and every single one of his shinobi were literarily blown up into pieces from the inside out. Even A who had had his lightning cloak activated was shredded into pieces.

The others could only watch with wide eyes.

"What is this?" said Mei with a shocked look.

Naruto looked at his handiwork. Thanks to his absorbing the Juubi's power, his rinnegan powers have now been escalated to a higher degree than ever, the massacre in front of him being a prime example. It was just the Shinra Tensei that Naruto had used to blow every single organ in every single shinobi. That was how much of a control that Naruto had. He was literarily in a godly level now. Well, when he needed it the least that was. Everything was over now.

Naruto turned to look at the shaken Mei. "Now, you know what I'm capable of. Know that this," he pointed towards the remain of the shinobi, "could very well happen to you and your shinobi as well. And it most likely will. From here on out, we are no longer allies. I'll be watching you from now on, Terumi Mei."

Mei simply took a step back before she disappeared in a puddle of water, no doubt retreating back to where her shinobi were lest she too be killed.

Anko looked at Naruto with a frown. "Why exactly did you let her go?"

Naruto looked at her. "Because unlike the others, she really is trying her best in changing her village."

"So was Tsunade," commented Fuka.

Naruto nodded at that. "Yes, she was. And I didn't kill her. Well, it was mostly because Mito wanted to take care of her herself. It certainly is stupid of me, but now with this power, all of that seems irrelevant. Not to mention that it all comes down to my own selfish goal."

Fuka frowned. "So, this really was all about getting back at Konoha for what they did to you…."

Naruto nodded again. "Yes, it is. What they did to our clan was always a secondary reason for me. But of course, not for everyone else. But that no longer matters now. We still have things to wrap up here before we head to the other villages."

Kushina jumped up on top of Moukaryuu's head, looking back at Naruto with a smile. "Well then? What are you waiting for? You don't want for the villagers to get away, do you?"

Naruto smirked before he, Anko, and Fuka joined her.

**"Don't forget about us."**

Naruto didn't even turn around. "Zetsu, eh? I'm sure that you will enjoy the coming show. Keep your eyes open, will you?"

White Zetsu grinned. "Will do."

Black Zetsu didn't respond, but a ghost of a smile could be seen on his lips.

Naruto looked at the burning buildings around him, the others standing behind him. Looking down at Moukaryuu, Naruto had a feral grin on his face. "Well then, shall we get started?"

* * *

><p>This had been only the beginning. After the sun had set, Konoha was no more. Its residents and shinobi had been reduced to nothing. The few that had escaped the massacre had managed to escape to surrounding lands.<p>

After Konoha, Iwa soon followed. With two major shinobi villages having been taken out as well as two others being severely weakened, the other smaller nations had tried to raise to power themselves before all of their efforts had been wiped out effortlessly by Naruto.

As for Kiri, Mei took Naruto's threat to heart. She made sure that nothing like what had happened with Yagura and and Tobi could be repeated again.

But the time of the shinobi had come to its end. With the shinobi villages having been wiped out, the remaining shinobi found themselves no longer useful. Nations no longer wanted them as they possessed a threat of another war breaking out. And they did not want that. A new balance of power was needed and the shinobi were not included. The New Akatsuki had made sure of that.

After stopping the other smaller villages from trying to take over, Naruto and the others had never been seen again. But the world was changing to a new era where shinobi and chakra was no longer needed.

The creation of a new world, where science was taking over, was born. And this came about because of the acts of one person and in his pursuit of trying to get even with the people that had shunned him. A childish reason, perhaps, and yet something greater was born as a result.

A new era was here.

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><p><strong>Yo<strong>

**Well….what can I say? It sure took me a lot longer to post this than I thought. But that was due to life just getting in the way. But I'm still here, and the final chapter has been completed. All that remains is the epilogue which will be posted no later than by the end of this week, probably sooner than that.**

**I have to give thanks to those that stuck by this story until the end. I know that certain aspects could have been done much better, but this was my first serious story that I wrote. It certainly taught me a lot. So, thank you.**

**And to those that hated it and yet are still here….well, all I can say is that this is my story. This is where I wanted for my characters to end up. You don't like it? Then go write your own story in which everything goes perfectly and everyone survives. I really don't care.**

**Finally, some parts may have seemed rushed and apologize for that. But I did try my best. There really was no need to write anything after Naruto obtained the Juubi's power. As you saw, no one stands a chance against him. It would have been extremely boring for me to have had written that. So, I decided not to and just give you a simple rundown of what happened.  
><strong>

**I guess that's all that I have to say. Once again, don't wait too long for the epilogue. It will be out soon. It would be helpful if you told me what you thought at the end.**

**And for one final time….till next time!**


	60. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>Epilogue:<br>Start of Something New  
><strong>

In the middle of a large commercial city known as Tokyo to most people in the world, a large skyscraper stood out amongst all the others present. The building possessed over fifty stories. The building also stood right in the center of the city in its downtown area, making it of much importance; which it was.

The tall building belonged to none other than '**Uzumaki Inc.**' as it was illustrated by the giant '**U**' hanging right in the middle of the building, mainly around its twenty fifth floor, give or take a few floors. **Uzumaki Inc.** was one of the most famous corporations in Japan, hell in the world. It specialized in businesses, but it also contained side branches in other areas such as sports, cosmetics for both men and women alike, as well as a small industry in both clothing manufacturing and military products production.

And right at the highest floor of the massive skyscraper, one man stood, or well sat, behind a large dark wooden desk in his office that took up the entire floor. Okay, so it wasn't just an office. An entertainment center accompanied by a small bar took up about half of the floor, with the other being the 'true' office. As the man had put it when he had had it built, he liked to put business together with pleasure.

The man, who also happened to be the chairman of the corporation in his twenties, was wearing black cargo pants with a long sleeved navy blue dress shirt with the top buttons unbuttoned and with the sleeves rolled up as well as black dress shoes.

The man ran a hand through his spiky-ish silver hair as he looked at all the paperwork in his desk. Really, this was the bane of his existence. It had been so for many years now. Oh, how he would love to just burn every single paper in front of him so that he could finally be free from it.

But as his _official _wife had put it, 'it wasn't gentleman like.'

Really, why she would even think that he would care if it was gentleman like or not was beyond him. But sacrifices had to be made when running a large corporation, he supposed. Besides, he had a method to get away from doing paperwork so that he could enjoy his entertainment center. That was the whole reason that he had built it next to his office, after all. Everyone would think that he was working when in fact he was not. Well, he was, but not at the same time. It wasn't really complicated once he did his method, but he couldn't very well do that at the moment.

And the reason being an attractive redheaded woman walking right through the doorway like as if she owned the place which wasn't far off from the truth.

The female redhead was wearing a two piece silver suit with a skirt, accompanied by a jacket over the dress shirt. The woman did leave some of her top exposed, however, giving an outsider a small visible shot of her cleavage. Not that the woman cared at any rate. The redhead also wore a diamond necklace that hung around her neck as well as high heels. All in all, she had the image of an attractive businesswoman which she was. Well, as far as the world was concerned at least.

The redhead had a smirk on her face as she walked towards the desk where the man was sitting.

"Having fun, are we?"

The silver haired man shot her an annoyed look. "If you're here to just tease me about all of this damn paperwork, then you're just wasting your time. Also if that's the case, then you should leave because I have a lot of work to do, Kushina."

Kushina shook her head as she hopped on top of the wooden desk, leaning forward to get closer to the man's face and knowing full well that she was giving him a good view of her cleavage.

"Please. I already know that you use shadow clones to sneak out of doing your work, Naruto-kun. So don't even try to lie to me about that. I can smell a lie a mile away."

Naruto sighed as he leaned back on his leather chair. "All right, you got me. So? Why are you here then?"

Kushina pouted. "What? Aren't you glad to see me?"

An image of another raven haired woman entered Naruto's mind before he dismissed it. "It's not like that. But knowing you, I'm pretty sure that you're not here to help me get away from doing this paperwork. Well, you might be, but not in the 'good way.'"

Kushina rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, I know. You have a fetish for office sex."

Naruto pointed an accusing finger at her. "It's not a fetish! And besides, it's not like you don't enjoy it!"

Kushina waved a hand in dismissal. "Putting that aside, yes, there's a reason that I'm here today."

Naruto sighed again before placing a hand on his silver colored hair. "So? Is there a problem?"

Kushina also let out a sigh. "I don't know if it's a problem or not, but apparently Anko has run into some difficulties…."

Naruto turned serious at hearing this. Anko was the head of the CIA, an international agency dealing mainly with espionage as well being one of the most important information sources for a major world power in the world today-the United States of America. How Anko got into that position was still sketchy to Naruto and the others, not that it didn't come in handy at times.

When they had asked her, Anko had simply let out a smirk and responded with, 'It's better for whatever sanity that you still have left that you don't know.'

They had dropped the subject immediately.

"What kind of problem is it?"

Kushina let out another sigh before she brought out a photograph from one of her pockets, placing it right on the desk in front of Naruto so that he could see it.

Recognizing the person in the photograph immediately, Naruto's blood ran cold.

He spun his chair around, turning to look out towards the city laying down below him through his windows.

"Where was this taken?"

"In the Middle East. Specifically in Saudi Arabia."

Naruto's hands turned into fists. 'What are you doing here now, you old man?'

The person in the photograph was none other than the old man that the Rikudo Sennin had told him about when he had appeared to Naruto for the final time. Mainly, the same old man that had given the Sennin the rinnegan. Or well, it was technically Naruto as well. All of his memories from his past life had returned as well, so he knew that the old man in the photograph was the same as the one that had appeared those thousands of years ago. Kushina, along with the others, already knew of his existence because Naruto had told them. They had had so much free time to spare, after all. And Kushina had wanted to know everything immediately.

Kushina looked at Naruto who was still looking out the window. "What will you do?"

Naruto chuckled humorlessly. "Do you want to know something? That's the one thing that I still don't know. Just who that old man is. I have a feeling that not even the Rikudo Sennin knew. And since he won't show himself to me anymore, I can't really ask him."

That was something else that had bothered Naruto for years. After the Rikudo Sennin had explained to him about how the Juubi came to be free that night in Uzu, he had never again showed himself. Naruto had even asked the Shinigami whom Naruto still possessed a contract with. But the Shinigami had simply said to not worry about it which had the opposite effect.

Kushina frowned. "But isn't the Rikudo Sennin who you were in your past life? Then doesn't it make sense that-"

"I don't know," interrupted Naruto, already knowing what Kushina was going to say. "I really don't know. I really don't get how he was able to show himself to me despite the fact that I am he. But I've long since gave up trying to figure some things out. Especially with all the time that has gone by…."

Naruto, along with Kushina and the others, were now by the lack of a better word, immortal. Well, they could still be killed if they were beheaded or something of the sort. But they didn't age, none of them. They were now also immune to any diseases. And just how was this possible? A lot of things came into factor in this. But mainly two. And those were the Juubi's chakra and the contract that Naruto had with the Shinigami.

Naruto was now basically the new Juubi. He was on the godly level now. Thanks to his now possessing the Juubi's power as his own, he couldn't age. So, he basically passed some of this power on to the others. Of course, by normal means, the others would have died since the Juubi's chakra was extremely toxic, save for perhaps Kushina and Fuka. But with the Shinigami's help, they had all adapted to having less than a fraction of the Juubi's power in them which kept them alive for so long. The Shinigami hadn't taken it too well. After all, he was the god of _death_. He wasn't suppose to be saving lives. He was suppose to be taking them. But after giving him some other souls in return, the Shinigami had calmed down.

Kushina picked up the photograph, observing it intently. "We can't just let this go. Not even the Shinigami will tell you who this guy is. And the last time that he was here, he gave you the rinnegan. And look how that turned out. What do you think he's going to do now?"

Naruto frowned as he stood up from his chair and walked towards the nearest window. "I don't know….I really don't know what his motives are. Is it peace? Because I really doubt that…."

The current world was proof of that. After the shinobi world had collapsed, it had only taken a few years before humanity started to battle against itself once more. The shinobi world was gone, but Naruto highly doubted that this one was any better.

Kushina placed the photograph down again. "One thing is for sure, though. And that is that whoever this man is, he's certainly not Kami."

Naruto closed his eyes at hearing that. That was what he had believed at first. Hell, he was sure that even the Rikudo Sennin had believed that. But Naruto was now sure that the true Kami had just taken advantage of the actions of this…..man. Kami had not given the Rikudo Sennin the rinnegan. And Naruto was sure that Kami did exist. But what exactly did Kami do? Naruto wasn't sure of that.

But it seemed that not even the Shinigami wanted to get involve in this this time. And that came as a great surprise to Naruto.

Naruto turned to look at Kushina who was now also his official wife. "Contact Anko and Fuka. We're going to get to the bottom of this."

Kushina smirked as she hopped off the table. "Now that's what I like to hear. But are you sure that Fuka will appreciate our taking her away from her modeling tour?"

Unlike the rest, Fuka had taken to a less…hectic lifestyle in a sense. And that was modeling. Fuka was now the number one female model in….well, everything! Swimsuits, normal attire, cosmetics, you name it. She was at the top of them all.

Naruto shrugged. "She's going to have to deal with it."

Kushina merely continued to smirk as she walked up to him, giving him a small kiss on the lips before walking out.

"I'll get to it then." She sent him a wink as she walked out of his office, closing the door behind her.

Naruto turned back to look out the window, already sensing the presence of a new arrival. "I see that you're here too, Zetsu…."

Zetsu appeared above him in the ceiling of his office. **"Your skills haven't diminished, even after all these years. But it seems that you're going to need our assistance once more…."**

White Zetsu grinned. "After all those years….it's taking me back…"

Naruto hmph'ed as he closed his eyes, his mind remembering all the others that had sacrificed themselves. "Yeah….."

It seemed that things were going to get interesting again.

* * *

><p><strong>Surprised?<strong>

**Because I sure am. What I'm about to tell you is important, so I suggest that you read it. Well, if you're interested that is.**

**In the beginning, I was planning on just adding this epilogue with the 'old man' appearing before both Naruto and Kushina and telling them everything and that being it. End of story.  
><strong>

**But then I started thinking….what if this and that, and well….this was the end result. Perhaps a second season? I don't know since I also have the other story in mind that I have been talking about before. I guess that I'll just leave it up to you readers to decide. It's the same for me either way. But I should warn you that which ever one I start on, it'll be after a few months from now since there's the trip that I'm going on in about a week and a half as well as other things that will no doubt come up. Also, there is no crossover. It will still only be 'Naruto' except that in the modern world with some small...additions.**

**So, I'll leave it up for you to decide. A PM or review will suffice. And once more, thanks to all those of you that have stayed this far with the story.**

**The Dark Hood is out….for now.**


	61. Alternative Ending

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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><p><strong>Alternative Ending<strong>

Naruto sighed as he leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms out. Looking down towards the mess of paperwork on his desk, he scratched his cheek. After all the adventures he had had, this was where he had ended up. Oh well. It did have its perks. Like, owning a multi-billion corporation did give him a lot of luxuries. Traveling all over the world, seeing sights other people couldn't. Of course, he supposed he did enjoy these times much more given everything that had led up to him being here. Mainly, the many troubled times through human history that he had witnessed.

After he had destroyed Konoha and the shinobi world had begun to collapse, Naruto and the others had hidden themselves away from the rest of the world. Even after humanity had gone back to forgetting about chakra once the shinobi culture died out, they didn't reveal themselves. They merely walked throughout time like normal, but powerfully rich, humans. Naruto could still recall the many things that he had seen. The glorious Egyptians, the intellectual Greeks, the powerful Romans, the extravagant Chinese. Those were just to name a few of the ancient worlds that he had lived in. Thankfully, he and his family had been able to survive all the dark aspects of time as well. The biggest two that came to mind being the Dark Ages after the Roman empire collapsed and the Black Plague. Due to the chakra of the Juubi resonating within them all, they had never once acquired that awful disease. Of course, Naruto knew that his Uzumaki genes played a big part as well.

But now, he was in the present day where technology was supreme. And his company, Uzumaki Inc., was one of the biggest ones in the world today. His company dealt with pretty much everything, but mainly with stocks and the like. Naruto really didn't handle much with that prospect. He left such things to Kushina since the woman just loved the "action" that came along with the job. Naruto really didn't see the appeal. Then again, business wasn't something that he had ever wanted to partake in. But such was life. One ended up doing the most unlikely of things in the end.

'Maybe I should have joined Anko in America with the CIA,' he thought. The former interrogator just couldn't get away from that way of life. As such, she always ended up joining some sort of military group that caught her interest. He still remembered how she had become the only woman general in the Roman empire before she had faked her own death when she got bored with the job. After all, there wasn't much action after the empire had stopped expanding. Of course, many other men hadn't been too pleased with her when she had been there. After they had expressed their displeasure to her in person, she had silenced them pretty quickly. She did a pretty good job of hiding her mark on history as well. She had gone back to destroy any records that existed about her. She didn't want the world to know about her. But that was a whole different story altogether.

Hell, he wouldn't mind being with Fuka in her worldwide model tour either. Even that sounded much more fun than being stuck here.

'Seems like giving up on my dream to become the Hokage didn't matter either way,' Naruto thought in slight amusement. 'I still ended up being behind a desk doing paperwork. Just fantastic.'

"You look just like a Hokage now, don't you?"

Using instincts and muscles that he had not used in centuries, Naruto was instantly on his feet in a defensive stance, his eyes scanning the office. But there was no one there. Nor did he sense any chakra anywhere. While humans in this age weren't able to access chakra anymore, they did possess it. Albeit, at low civilian levels. That was why, when he had been targeted for assassination in days past, he had still been able to pick up on that.

That wasn't the case at the moment. At least, until a humanoid figure suddenly appeared before his desk. When Naruto's eyes caught sight of the being, he instantly knew whom it was. Even after all these years, he had not forgotten about this person. And how could he? He had been the one to give him the Rinnegan to begin with.

"It's you….."

The being, wearing the same robes from when he had first appeared before the Rikudo Sennin, tilted his head in appraisal. "It seems you still remember me. That does save me some trouble."

Naruto t'ched, his hands clenching at his side. "Yeah, you're not exactly someone I can forget. Even though I still have no idea who the hell you are. You're not Kami, that's for sure."

"Very astute for you," he said. "But in order to simplify things, I'm Kami's messenger. I watch over everything that he does. Hence, you may call me the Watcher."

Naruto scoffed. "Right. Now that that's out of the way, mind telling me what you're doing here? Don't tell me your boss is planning on starting another world changing event?"

The Watcher shook his head. "No. Although the Juubi's release was through man's work. Not his. He never intended for the Juubi to ever be released. His plan was different altogether. But even through difficulties, he has ways to work around that. That's where the Rinnegan comes into the picture. And you."

Naruto relaxed. "So, you're here to tell me all of this?"

The Watcher walked around the desk towards the window, gazing out towards the busy downtown area of Tokyo. "Yes. Things have settled down enough now. And it's apparent that you have no plans to try and take over this world. Even though with your power it would be like taking candy from a baby."

Naruto grinned a little. "Heh. I never thought someone so close to Kami would ever say something like that." The grin then vanished. "But I have no reason to change things now. It's obvious to me that humans don't want to change. Not only that, but I'm not exactly guilt free either. I had my revenge. Now, I'm only planning on living my quiet life with my family. No matter what you say, that's not going to change my mind."

"Don't worry about that. Kami has decided to allow things to flow freely. To only observe. That's where free will can truly be practice."

Naruto sighed. Some part of him actually thought that that was a bad idea. But he knew the others. They were happy with their lives. There was no way he was going to drag them down back to that life again. Especially considering just how much he had lost last time that he did.

"So," Naruto began, crossing his arms in front of him. "Tell me: just what did your master hope to achieve by starting all that he did?"

"A new world of course," the Watcher answered without hesitation. "All of this was designed to make his creations, humanity, part of the bigger world. Of the gods. That's why he gave you all the power of chakra, the same power as the gods."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "What?"

"There once was a war among the gods," the Watcher began. "The one to start this war was none other than the Juubi, whom God had created before humanity. It was his first test to see how well he could do in that aspect. The Juubi was too good of a success. He was powerful. And the only one that could injure Kami since he possessed the same powers as him. But he started to abuse his powers. The other gods didn't take too well to this. The Juubi didn't care, however. It wasn't long before things escalated even further, leading to a war between them. Having no other choice, Kami had to step in. This plane was beginning to be affected as well. I'm sure you've heard of Noah's Ark?" At Naruto's nod, he continued, "That was a result of one of the battles. Given that the Juubi was created through Kami's powers, the battle was difficult. But in the end, Kami managed to seal him here on Earth, stripping him away from his ability to reason. Given that this is his domain, no other gods can do anything without his permission. Nor are they strong enough to oppose him. So it was the perfect place. But then your father in your past life interfered."

"Interfered?" Naruto repeated. "Your boss was the one that gave him-"

"Yes, he did attain his powers from Kami," the Watcher agreed. "But he didn't suspect that the dear doctor would be able to hone in on his power enough to free the Juubi from his imprisonment. And you're very much aware of what occurs after that."

"Yeah. The world turned to hell," Naruto said with a sigh. "So now I know of the events that led to the Juubi's imprisonment. But then why did Kami give humans chakra? What was his goal?"

"Like I told you: the ability to stand on equal terms with gods," the Watcher stated. Seeing Naruto look at him with a look of confusion, he elaborated, "Ever since Kami created humanity, he was ridiculed for given them free will. They only saw humans as a waste of time. So Kami came up with a plan to prove them wrong since he loves his creations to his very core. That's why he gave them the power to use chakra. Not all at once of course. He wanted it to be a slow process. And he chose the doctor as the one to lead this from the moment he was conceived. But when the Juubi was released, he changed his plans to you. You weren't able to achieve this in your first lifetime, however. That was where Madara and the Shinigami came in. They were the ones to pave the way for your reincarnated self to achieve it at long last. But then you yourself decided to go a different path. And that is what has led to this imperfect world."

"Then let me guess: the perfect world is a combination of both this world and the shinobi world," Naruto said.

"That is correct," the Watcher replied with a nod. "Humans would be aware of the world beyond. They would accept it. They would understand it. They would thrive in it. And you would be its head."

"Sounds appealing honestly," Naruto admitted. "But it sounds just as appealing to prove Kami wrong. He's messed up with all of our lives too much. Although some good did come out of it. I am where I am today because of what Madara did. And he wouldn't have done all that he did if he hadn't discovered that his original plan was doomed to fail."

"Kami is very much aware of this," the Watcher said. "That is why he no longer plans on meddling with you or the others. You are fit to live however you want and for as long as you want. Consider that his gift for everything that you have lost to get here."

"Well, I appreciate it," Naruto said with some sarcasm. "But I guess I should thank you for telling me this. That's one less loose end. Or the last one really."

"You haven't dwelt on it either, so it makes no difference," the Watcher stated, turning to face him once more. "But at the very least, you now have your answers. Which means that there is no more meaning for me being here."

"Huh. I hope we never see each other again," Naruto commented as the being vanished just as he had appeared. "You can also come out, Zetsu."

"And here I thought we had hid ourselves pretty well this time."

**"And that's why you're an idiot."**

Naruto chuckled as the two attached "brothers" surfaced from the floor. "You two are getting along nicely as usual."

Black Zetsu sighed. **"It's my punishment for everything that I've done, I guess. Especially since Kami sounds like a prankster considering that he even manipulated Madara."**

"We were all manipulated," Naruto said as he sat back down. "It's just like you once told Mikoto. The only difference was that we didn't know who the grand puppeteer was. But even then, everyone chose what they wanted to do. Mikoto, Mito, Obito, Sasuke, Itachi, and Neji. They did what they wanted. Just like we did. Even if it did coincide with Kami's plan. Or maybe I'm just trying to offer myself some sort of condolence."

Before Zetsu could respond, Kushina walked into the office with an Ipad in hand, scanning through it. "Naruto-kun, there are some papers I need for you to sign-"

The redhead stopped midway when she noticed that they weren't alone. "Zetsu? What are you doing here? You rarely come out!"

That was true. Zetsu had pretty much become a hermit by this point. According to Black Zetsu, the world had become a dull place. There was only petty arguments here and there. And thus, he didn't feel the need to observe anything. Especially since Naruto didn't need their services anymore. On the other hand, White Zetsu only wanted to spy on important world meetings for the hell of it. Which they did from time to time just to alleviate some boredom.

"We just thought we should pay the old boss a visit," White Zetsu answered with a grin. "For a reminder of the good old days."

**'He finally said something smart for a change,' **Black Zetsu thought to himself.

Kushina nodded. Although she felt there was more to it than that, she didn't comment. She could ask Naruto later when they were alone.

"Anyway, Naruto-kun, I need-"

She stopped short as Naruto was in front of her in an instant, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close before kissing her.

"Tch, he gets all the good stuff," White Zetsu grumbled while Black Zetsu sighed.

**'And we're back to being an idiot.'**

"Not that I'm complaining, but what brought this on?" Kushina asked after they had parted.

"Nothing. I just want to let you know that I love you and that I'm happy to be with you," Naruto said with a smile.

Kushina returned the smile. It wasn't everyday that Naruto did stuff like this out of the blue. "Well, thank you. But you're still not getting away from finishing your work. So hop to it, mister."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto did just that nevertheless. Hey, it was his life. And no matter how dull it got, he was content with it.

And thus, it was just another day in the life of the Uzumakis.

* * *

><p><strong>So I just felt like doing this in order to give all those who didn't read Ascension a closing on everything that transpired. Of course, a few things were missing here that did happen in Ascension. But that was only because a different course of events happened in that story. The explanation is still the same, though.<strong>

**Once more, I would like to thank all those that read this story, my very first one. And I hope this was enjoyable.**

**Thanks!**


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